On Broken Wings
by Fae'sFlower
Summary: Elphaba is a Huntresses of Artemis, and as such, has taken an oath to reject relationships with men. But when she runs away to find out about her forgotten past, she meets a certain handsome demigod. And him joining her on her quest won't be her biggest problem. Or maybe it will be. Fiyeraba. AU. Wicked/Greek Mythology. Winner 1st place 'Best Crossover' in 2016 Greg Awards.
1. Visions of a Past Time

**Alright! New multichap time! This is my first crossover. I have a soft spot for Greek Mythology, so I decided to mix the two. Let hope this goes well! Enjoy! But before we start, I would like to introduce a few characters:**

 **VinkunEmeralds as Seraphia**

 **Ultimate Queen of Cliffies as Maia**

 **Moreanswers24 as Carisse**

 **DISCLAIMER: Yeah... I don't own Wicked or Greek Mythology, but wouldn't it be cool if I did?**

* * *

Birds crowed as they flew into the air as hurried footsteps lightly trampled against the ground of the Gillikin Forest. A few triumphant laughs could be heard as the footsteps grew louder and louder. Squirrels and raccoons scurried out of the way and used the tall trees as hiding refugees until the footsteps died away.

"Wait!" the eldest woman, the Olympian goddess Artemis said, holding up her hand.

The band of younger girls halted and looked up at their leader, waiting for her to give them the signal. The goddess turned her head from side to side, as if trying to listen for something. She pointed to her left and three of the girls ran off. There was a loud roar, then the sound of an arrow zipping through the air, then the roaring suddenly stopped. Artemis smiled to herself as the three girls returned, carrying a rather large boar with an arrow in its side.

"Good hunt, girls," the goddess smiled. "We shall have a feast tonight!"

The rest of the girls cheered.

"Let us return to the camp now. Today was a very good day."

The goddess and her band of followers quickly moved back to their base in the middle of the forest, where the girls who didn't go on the hunt that day were resting.

"Lady Artemis!" one of the older girls said when she noticed the goddess.

"Hello, girls," Artemis smiled warmly as the girls all curtsied to her. She looked around and frowned slightly. "Where is Elphaba?"

"I believe she's in her tent. I'll go get her!" one of the girls said, curtsying once more before hurrying away.

The goddess nodded to the girls who accompanied her on the hunt and they dispersed to their own activities. Soon, a tall girl, about eighteen years old, with long, raven hair, soft chocolate eyes, and emerald green skin approached the goddess. "Ah, Elphaba," the Olympian smiled. "Please, follow me."

The girl nodded wordlessly and followed the goddess to her tent. She had the nagging feeling that she was in trouble for something, but she had no idea what.

Artemis led the green girl into her tent and closed the flap behind her. "Would you like some tea?"

"No, thank you," Elphaba whispered, keeping her gaze down.

Artemis nodded, but prepared two cups anyway. "Sit down, Elphaba."

The green girl sat down on the pillow across the table from the goddess. She found herself sipping the tea, more because it gave her something to do other than look at the goddess.

"What have you done today?" Artemis asked.

"I read… mostly," Elphaba said softly, still not meeting the goddess' gaze.

"And what else?"

"Galinda came by for a while and we talked."

"And what else?"

Elphaba looked up at the goddess, wondering what she wanted her to say. "I bathed in the river."

Artemis nodded. "There was a very good hunt today."

Elphaba paused, then nodded.

"Elphaba, this has been the third hunt you have missed this month. I have allowed you to talk your way out of it, but now I require an answer. You are a very good archer. I cannot understand why you would not want to join us anymore."

"I… apologize."

"Thank you, but I do not want an apologize as much as I want an answer."

"I just… haven't felt the inclination to hunt."

"Haven't felt the inclination to hunt?" Artemis repeated.

Elphaba shrugged.

"Elphaba."

She looked up.

"I have known you since you were a little girl. When I began training you, I could tell you would be a very valuable asset to our company."

Despite being a virgin goddess, Artemis was very motherly towards all the girls, but especially Elphaba. Something had intrigued her from the first moment she saw her and the two had a special bond ever since.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"It's… it's about…"

"Yes?"

"My family. At least, I think it was my family."

The goddess looked surprised. "Oh? What about them?"

"I've been having weird… dreams about them. Actually, they were more like visions. I have no idea what they are about. Most of them involve a woman, who I think was my mother. She looked a bit like me, only her hair was dark brown and her skin wasn't green. And there was sometimes a man… maybe my father. He was bald, even though he looked as young as the woman."

"Visions?"

Elphaba nodded. "How… How old was I when you found me?"

"You were around four years old."

"Why do I have no memories before I came here?"

"I do not know, Elphaba," the goddess lied. "But I do know this; you are here now and this is your family."

"But I want to know where I come from."

"Sometimes, it's better that we don't know certain things about ourselves until they are ready to manifest themselves."

Elphaba didn't smile, but she accepted the goddess' answer nonetheless. "I'm sorry for behaving so foolishly. I will join you whenever you wish."

"You were not foolish, Elphaba."

Elphaba nodded half-heartedly.

Artemis regarded the young girl before excusing her. She watched as Elphaba curtsied and hurried out of her tent. Letting out a long sigh, she buried her face in her hands, trying to quell her nerves. She had hoped this day would never come. She knew that eventually, Elphaba would have some questions, but she knew she would never be ready to tell her.

"There you are!" a voice called.

Elphaba turned to see one of her friends and fellow huntress, Seraphia, hurrying over to her. Her curly, red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her brown eyes matched Elphaba's. Her usually rose colored skin was covered in sunscreen, even though the sun was barely out and it wasn't that hot. She was a bit shorter than the green girl, stopping a few centimeters beneath her chin. She looked the same age as the green girl, but Elphaba knew she was _much_ older than she looked. "So, what did Lady Artemis want from you?"

"Nothing," Elphaba replied curtly, walking away.

"Hey! Wait!" she called, grabbing Elphaba's arm.

"Let me go, Sera! I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, she didn't kill you or turn you into an animal for us to hunt… speaking of hunts, why didn't you go on the one today?"

"Because _I_ went in her place," another voice supplied. The girls turned around to see Maia, one of the original huntresses. Her dark brownish-reddish hair was in a braid that stopped at the small of her back. She had tan skin from all her hours spent in the sun and the same brown eyes as Elphaba and Seraphia. "What happened to you today?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Nothing," Elphaba said, narrowing her eyes at the nosy girls.

"Elphaba's being stubborn," Seraphia said, also crossing her arms.

"Come on, Elphaba. You can tell us. We're your friends. We won't make fun of you for whatever it is… at least, not forever. Maybe for a few centuries or so, but not _forever_."

Elphaba cursed the fact that all the huntresses had the gift of eternal youth, given to them by Artemis when they joined the huntresses, and wouldn't die unless they were killed in battle… or by Artemis herself. They had all the time in the world. "What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked Maia.

"Since I took your spot today, you have to do my cooking duty," Maia said.

"Says who?"

"Says me! And we're having the boar we caught today. Make sure it has extra herbs and lightly salted. And make sure it's not overcooked." The older girl smirked as she walked away, humming softly to herself.

"What's her deal?" another girl, Carisse, said as she approached Seraphia and Elphaba. "She's _way_ too happy."

"She got out of cooking duty," Seraphia supplied.

Carisse brushed her long, brown hair out of her face and laughed. "That's a relief. We all know Maia can't cook."

"I HEARD THAT!" Maia shouted from across the camp.

Carisse ignored her. "Well, I was just on my way to find some more strawberries before dinner. Wanna come?"

"Sure!" Seraphia smiled. "Elphaba?"

"I'll pass," the green girl said. "I have to finish reading my book."

The two huntresses exchanged a look, but then shrugged and waved to the green girl before leaving. Elphaba sighed and hurried back to her tent, grabbing her book and opening to her current page.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pay attention to her book and she couldn't shake off the feeling that Artemis had lied to her. The goddess knew where she came from. She knew about her past, but she refused to tell her. Sure, she was still one of the newer and younger huntresses, but she wasn't a baby. The only person that would know anything about her past would be Artemis, and she knew she wasn't going to say anything. Elphaba thought for a moment. Who else would know?

 _Maybe one of the other Olympians_ , Elphaba thought. _They would know. Of course they know, but would they tell me?_

"Dinner's ready!"

Elphaba hadn't even realized how fast time had past her and hurried out of her tent. She hurried out and sat with everyone around the campfire. After saying a quick blessing and throwing some of their food into the fire for the gods, everyone began to eat. Being a vegetarian, Elphaba only got a salad, but only picked at it. Maia, Serephia, and Carisse all exchanged a look, but shrugged it off as they continued to eat their food.

The green girl was the first to excuse herself and walked back to her tent. She had planned on finishing her book, but as soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep.

 _"Papa!"_

 _"Hush!"_

 _"Papa, no!"_

 _"Hush, Elphaba!"_

 _"Papa, please!"_

 _"Stop!"_

 _"Mama!"_

 _"Silence!"_

 _There was fire everywhere. The little girl screamed as pain overtook her body._

 _"Halt!"_

Elphaba shot up in her bed, covered in sweat. She looked up and saw that she was alone in her tent. Taking a deep breath, she tried to collect herself. It was only a dream. But it felt so real. Almost like… a memory. She was shouting for her father. What had happened? Where was her father now? Why was she begging him to stop whatever he was doing?

She laid back down, but didn't go back to sleep for the rest of the night. As Apollo pulled the sun through the sky and brought the daytime, Elphaba still didn't rise from her bed. No one could get her to come out of her tent.

"Should we tell Lady Artemis?" Seraphia asked, looking from Carisse to Maia.

"No, she'll come out when she's ready," Maia said softly.

"Which hopefully will be soon," Carisse whispered.

"I have a plan to get her to talk," Seraphia smirked.

"Oh, and what will that be, oh wise daughter of Athena?" Maia said mockingly.

Growling, Seraphia turned on Maia, pulled her hands behind her back, and forced her to her knees. Maia cried out and tried to twist away, but Seraphia only held her tighter.

"I'm sorry, what was that, _daughter of Apollo_?" Seraphia asked, her smirk widening.

"I… uncle! Uncle! Uncle!" Maia cried.

Seraphia chuckled, but let go. Maia collapsed, taking in large gulps of air to recover. She gave the girl a dirty look, though Seraphia simply smirked down at her. Carisse gave her friends a satisfied look and walked away. If Elphaba heard the voices outside her tent, she made no move of acknowledgment that she did. All she wanted to be was left alone. But deep down, she knew that one day, she would be able to find her real family.

* * *

 **This is a bit belated, but congratulations to all of the Tony winners. All of them are well deserved. And even if they didn't get to take home a trophy, everyone is still a winner.**

 **Reviews are just like chocolate bars... and I LOVE chocolate bars!**


	2. A Problem to Solve

**Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: Hmm… I never really considered a self-insert in this one. You may see me later on. *Smirk***

 **LifelongLeahstar: This is half Greek Mythology. There's** ** _always_** **a reason to be worried.**

* * *

Artemis paced around the throne room of Mount Olympus. She was so sure the spell would work forever. Spells like that normally don't just wear off, and certainly not one of _her_ spells.

"Hey, lil' sis," Apollo smiled as he walked in, fixing his laurel wreath on his perfect, golden hair. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Artemis said. "And you know how much I hate it when you call me 'lil' sis'."

"Sorry, lil' sis," the sun god laughed. Artemis didn't smile and Apollo sobered. "Okay. We're being serious now. It's serious time. What's wrong?"

"It's Elphaba," Artemis admitted.

"Isn't she the one who…"

"Yes," Artemis interrupted. "Yes, she is."

Apollo nodded. "What happened?"

"She's starting to have dreams about her past."

"And that's bad because…?"

"Why do you think I erased her memories?"

"Artemis, I don't know why you do _half_ of the things you do," Apollo sighed, rolling his eyes. "Females are _such_ mysteries."

"Like _you're_ any better."

"At least it's no mystery what I do. I raise the sun, and I bring it back down. Simple."

"The point is… there are things that she doesn't need to remember."

"Why?"

"Because I said so!"

"Okay. Fine." Apollo raised his hands in mock surrender and went to sit on his throne. "Just... how is my little Maia doing?"

"She's not little anymore, Apollo."

"Still... a child never grows up in the eyes of a parent."

"I wouldn't know about that, now would I?"

"Just tell me how she's doing."

"Fine. She's doing fine," Artemis sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. The other gods and goddesses slowly filtered into the room.

"Daddy, Athena stole my hairbrush!" Aphrodite cried as she ran into the throne room, with Athena close behind her.

"I did not," the goddess of wisdom and battle strategies replied calmly, petting the owl on her shoulder. "This one is mine."

"Yes, you did!" the goddess of love and beauty cried as she held up the other goddess' arm, revealing a large, golden 'A' on the back of the brush. "It says 'A' for Aphrodite! Is your name Aphrodite? No! It's my name! Therefore, it's _my_ brush!"

"You do realize that my name also starts with 'A', don't you?" Athena asked. "For all we know, this brush could also be Artemis', or Apollo's."

Apollo flicked his hair out of his eyes and the female goddesses groaned.

"It's not his, or Artemis', or yours because it's mine! Daddy!" Aphrodite pouted.

"It's alright, my beautiful little flower," Zeus said comfortingly as he descended his throne and put his arm around his daughter.

"I have proof that this brush is mine," Athena said, still very calm. She pulled out a strand of light brown hair and held it in Aphrodite's face. "Last time I checked, your hair is blonde… unless you dyed it for a day and didn't show anyone because it didn't work out."

Aphrodite pouted. "Fine. Be that way."

"I will go and get you a new brush, my darling," Zeus said before he quickly disappeared in a poof of smoke and lightning.

"Really, Aphrodite. You have so many brushes. Why do you need that one?" Poseidon, god of the sea, asked, broadly twirling his trident in his hands.

"Because that one was my favorite!" Aphrodite said.

"It's also mine," Athena sighed.

"You have more hair brushes than Zeus has demigod children," Ares pointed out.

"That is true," Hera, goddess of marriage, muttered from her throne.

"I think you still look radiant, my love," Hephaestus said, smiling broadly at his wife.

"Oh…" Aphrodite said slowly, trying to hide her disgust by forcing a smile. "Thank you… dear."

Zeus returned with a new golden brush and a beautiful comb for his daughter. Aphrodite squealed and hugged her father before going to her throne. Athena, trying not to look dejected and jealous, simply rolled her eyes and sat down, stroking the owl resting on her shoulder.

"What's wrong, Artemis?" Demeter asked, noticing that Artemis was being oddly quiet.

"She's moody," Hermes supplied, earning him a slap in the head from Hera.

"Nothing. I'm fine," Artemis said, developing an interest in her shoes.

"Is it a… full moon?" Ares asked, after taking a dramatic pause, wiggling his eyebrow.

"Ares, did _anyone_ ask you _anything_?" Artemis hissed.

The god of war simply shrugged.

"Something is wrong, Artemis. What is it?" Zeus asked his other daughter.

"Nothing."

"It's Elphaba," Apollo supplied.

Artemis sent him a look. Hera slowly turned and gave Artemis a sideways look.

"She's starting to remember her past," the sun god continued.

"Shut up, Apollo!" the goddess said quickly through clenched teeth.

"Isn't Elphaba the green Munchkinland girl who was about to be –" Dionysus started.

"Yes! Alright, yes! Now can we all please change the subject?" Artemis shouted, the whole room shaking.

The gods and goddesses quieted down. Artemis calmed and sat back in her throne. "It's a problem I will handle on my own. I don't need anyone else's help."

"Whatever you say, Artemis," Athena said gently, looking at the goddess sitting across from her with concern.

"Thanks," the goddess of the hunt said, her mind reeling with potential ideas to fix the mess she was about to get into.

* * *

A week past and things seemed to return to normal. Elphaba surprised everyone when they woke up one morning and she was dressed to go on the hunt with Artemis. The goddess was pleased and smiled at the green girl when she joined her and they went off together with the rest of the group.

When they got back, Elphaba was exhausted and was on her way back to her tent to change when a poof of pink dust appeared in front of her. She coughed and waved her hand in front of her face, trying to clear the dust. When she opened her eyes, she saw her best friend, Galinda Upland, standing in front of her, a wide smile on her face.

"Hi, Elphie!" the blonde giggled, throwing her arms around her best friend.

"Hey, Glin," the green girl smiled, returning the hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I just stopped by for a visit. Harmonia had to go to town, something about an errand for Hestia."

Elphaba smiled slightly. The two girls had been best friends since Aphrodite had dropped her off one day for Artemis to babysit and the two had been inseparable ever since.

 _"Okay, when will you be back again?" Artemis had asked when Aphrodite had dropped off her daughter._

 _"I'll return before sunset," Aphrodite said._

 _"Why can't someone else watch her? Isn't Harmonia her nurse?"_

 _"Yes, but she's busy today."_

 _"And where is her father? Or do you not know?" That was a low blow, and Artemis knew it, but she really didn't feel like babysitting the little five-year-old miniature version of her half-sister._

 _"He's dead," Aphrodite said shortly, shooting her a look. "And you should be happy to watch your niece for a few hours."_

 _"Half-niece," Artemis corrected. "And she could get hurt with all the weapons laying around, or by one of my girls training."_

 _Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Excuses, excuses." She turned to her daughter, who was busy making pink and purple flowers grow, delighted by her power. "Momsie will return before sunset, darling. Be good for Auntie Artemis."_

 _"'Kay, Momsie," the little girl giggled as her mother kissed her forehead._

 _The goddess of love waved and disappeared in golden sparkles. Galinda looked up at her aunt and tilted her head to the side before pushing herself to her feet. "Let's play!" she giggled, clapping her hands._

 _The goddess of the hunt looked at the small blonde, not exactly knowing what to do with her. She looked up and noticed the little green girl near the lake. Smiling, the goddess picked her niece of and walked over to Elphaba._

 _"Elphaba," Artemis smiled, setting the girl down. "This is Galinda, Aphrodite's daughter. Galinda, this is Elphaba."_

 _The blonde regarded the green girl. Elphaba slowly rose to her feet and looked at Galinda before looking down._

 _"Why don't you two play together?"_

 _Neither one of the girls responded._

 _Artemis took both girls by the hand and led her to her tent. "You girls can play in here. But don't leave unless you call me first, okay?"_

 _"Okay," Elphaba said softly, still not looking at the blonde._

 _The goddess nodded and left. That was easier than she thought._

 _Galinda circled around the green girl, examining her from every angle. "Why are you green?" she finally asked, rather bluntly._

 _"I… I don't know."_

 _"Is one of your parents a god or a goddess?"_

 _"I… don't know."_

 _"My Momsie's a goddess. She's very beautiful and helps people to fall in love and get married. I'm gonna be just like her when I grow up. Wait… you don't know who_ your _momsie is?"_

 _Elphaba shook her head. "I just woke up here one day."_

 _"Is Auntie Artemis your momsie?"_

 _"I… don't know."_

 _"You don't know a lot," the blonde said, frowning slightly. "Why don't you know anything?"_

 _"I don't know…" Elphaba said quietly, causing the blonde girl to giggle._

 _"I like you, Elphie. I'm gonna call you 'Elphie' from now on. It's called a nickname. Bestest friends give it to each other. And since we're now bestest friends, you have to give me one."_

 _"I don't –"_

 _"No!" the blonde pouted. "Don't say that you don't know! Give me a nickname!"_

 _"But –"_

 _"NOW!"_

 _The green girl startled and finally looked into the blonde's cerulean eyes. "Glin?" she offered slowly and shyly._

 _The blonde calmed and smiled. "I like it! Now we are officially going to be bestest friends for life. Yay!" She tackled her new friend in a hug and both girls fell to the floor. "Well, Elphie, now that we're bestest friend, I've decided to make you my new project."_

 _"Oh… you really don't have to do that," Elphaba said quietly._

 _"I know… that's what makes me so nice. With my help, you'll be the most popular girl in the whole camp."_

"Well, needless to say, Cupid is being more annoying than usual, and that's saying something. I really can't stand him sometimes," Galinda said as she and Elphaba snacked on sandwiches and tea. "He keeps trying to make me fall in love with satyrs."

"What wrong with satyrs?" Elphaba asked, clearly amused.

"They're so… hairy. And most of them are almost always drunk. And they smell of wine and wood, not a very pleasing aroma, if you ask me. One time, Cupid hit one of them with his stupid arrows and he chased me all around the western part of the forest. I was running until Momsie came and intervened."

"What did she say?"

"'Galinda, sweetie heart, Cupid was only playing. He's just a baby, you know.' Yeah, right! He's a baby who's older than… than… I don't even know! He's an old baby! But enough about me. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Elphaba smiled.

"Nothing's been going on?"

"No."

"Come on, Elphie. We're bestest friends. You're supposed to be able to spill your deepest, darkest secrets to me. Why else do people have secrets? So they can tell them to their bestest friends!"

"Nothing out of the ordinary happened."

Galinda was about to say something else when a scream drew them from their tent. They peaked their heads out and saw Seraphia jump into Maia's arms, burying her face in her shoulder.

"What in Great Zeus' name was that?" Carisse asked as she hurried over.

"Th-There w-was a… sp-sp-sp-spider in my t-t-tent!" Seraphia stuttered, her voice half-muffled by Maia's shoulder.

"A spider? Really?" Carisse sighed. "Don't tell me you're afraid of _spiders_."

"It's a thing with her mother," Maia supplied, gently putting Seraphia down.

"Her mo- _oh_ ," Carisse realized, remembering the story of Athena and Arachne.

"Spiders aren't going to hurt you, Sera," Maia supplied.

"That's what they want you to think," Seraphia said, staring at her tent. "I'm not going back inside until I'm assured that... that _thing_ is gone. Those creepy, little, eight-legged creepy-crawlies."

Maia rolled her eyes and went into the tent to retrieve the spider. When she emerged, she opened her covered hands in front of Seraphia's face to reveal the spider. The younger girl jumped back and the daughter of Apollo laughed before letting the spider to lose in the forest.

"I hate you so much," Seraphia frowned when she returned.

"But then, at the end of the day, you know I'm the only one who knows how to make your special sun screen. Wouldn't want my father to burn you to a crisp with the sun, now would you?"

Seraphia opened her mouth to retort, but simply grunted and stalked away.

Elphaba and Galinda exchanged a look before going back inside. "Oh, and Momsie gave me this comb a few weeks ago!" Galinda said, taking out a pearl and golden comb from her pocket.

"Wow," Elphaba smiled, admiring the way it sparkled. "It's really beautiful."

"Thank you. You can have it if you want."

"Wha- Galinda, no! It's a gift from your mother. I couldn't possibly take it!" Elphaba protested.

"Nonsense! Momsie gives me gifts all the time. And you don't have a comb. So here, consider it a gift from me to you." She handed Elphaba the comb and closed her fingers around it.

"I… thank you… but I don't have anything to give you."

"Just being my bestest friend is enough," Galinda smiled brightly at her friend. She took the comb and styled the green girl's hair before using the comb to hold it in place. "There. Why, Miss Elphaba, look at you. You're beautiful," Galinda said, blowing into her palm and causing a mirror to appear. She held it up for her friend to see her reflection.

Elphaba took the mirror and looked at her reflection. She stared at herself for a while before handing back the mirror. "I… I have to go," she said before running off.

"You're welcome!" the demigod called after her. "Oz, some people just really don't appreciate a g- oh, hello!" she said as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Giggling, she waved her hand and disappeared the same way she appeared.

* * *

 **Don't worry! We shall meet our favorite love interest soon! Don't forget to review!**


	3. The Stories We Share

**FaerieTales4ever: We shall find out what happened to Elphaba MUCH later.**

 **Torchakaywrites: There are more girls, but it would be too much to write in like… fifty or more other characters. But there are more girls at the camp than our featured characters.**

 **Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: LOL! I don't like spiders, either.**

* * *

"Another bulls-eye!" Maia smiled as she watched Elphaba practice her archery. "Very good, Elphaba."

"Thanks," the green girl said, half-distracted as she shot another arrow.

The older girl blinked, sensing that something was wrong, but not knowing the proper way to go about finding out. "So…" she said casually, trying to seen nonchalant. "I heard it's someone's vow-iversary tomorrow."

Elphaba shot another bulls-eye and looked at her friend. "Huh?"

"The anniversary of when you pledged to Lady Artemis, silly!"

"Where did you get that?"

"Carisse made it up, but that's beside the point."

"Then what is the point?"

"You don't seem happy about it."

Elphaba blinked. "I… am I supposed to be overjoyed and celebrating this day?"

"I'm so glad you mentioned that, because Seraphia wants to know what color scene you wanted for the party."

"The _what_?"

"Oh," Maia said sheepishly. "I wasn't supposed to tell you about that. You know what, just pretend I didn't say that."

"Why are you throwing me a party? You know I despise parties."

"Big mouth!" Seraphia frowned as she came up to the two, with Carisse trailing behind her.

"Sorry! It slipped out," Maia defended herself.

"I bet it did."

"Okay, you two. Arguing won't make this any better," Carisse said reasonably. She turned back to Elphaba. "We… um... noticed that you were slipping back into your sad slump again, so we… um… decided that… we were going to throw you a surprise party."

"Well, it was _going_ to be a surprise…" Seraphia muttered.

"Let it go!" Maia growled through her teeth.

Seraphia glared at her, but wisely shut her mouth.

"We just hate to see you upset," Carisse finished, giving the green girl a small, hopeful smile.

The green girl smiled back. "Well, I appreciate the effort, but I don't think a party is really necessary."

"No one ever said anything about it being necessary," Seraphia pointed out.

"We just wanted an excuse to have a party," Carisse said.

Maia nodded. "We haven't had one in…"

"Forever!" all three girls chorused.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "I'm sure."

"Fine. Be that way. But just know that when we have the party, you're _not_ getting any cake," Carisse said as she overdramatically huffed and marched away.

Maia and Seraphia rolled their eyes and followed the younger girl out, waving to Elphaba over their shoulders. Elphaba waved back and went back to practicing. A sparkling sound came from behind her, but she didn't pay it any attention.

"Elphie!" a voice shouted.

Elphaba yelped and shot the arrow upward into a tree, almost knocking a bird from its nest. The bird chirped angrily at the green girl before flying away. "Oz, Galinda! Don't do that!"

"But you didn't hear me the first time," the blonde pouted, brushing residue sparkles from her pink dress. "You were all distractified."

"I was trying to concentrate," Elphaba sighed as she began to climb the tree to retrieve her arrow.

"But I have something to show you!" the blonde huffed.

"And it couldn't have waited?"

"No."

Elphaba jumped back down, landing gracefully on her feet with the arrow secured in her right hand. "What did you want to show me?"

The blonde looked around. "Not out here. Can we go back to your tent?"

Elphaba blinked, but nodded and led the blonde away. Once the girls were inside, Elphaba closed the tent flap and sat across from the blonde. "What is it?"

The blonde giggled and pulled out a gold, silver, and purple mirror.

"A… mirror? You interrupted my practicing for… a _mirror_?"

"Not just any mirror, Elphie!" Galinda sighed, rolling her eyes. "Momsie gave it to me. It's a mirror that can show you whatever you want. It's made from tiny ice crystals from the water surrounding the Isles of the Blessed in the Underworld. It's really powerful."

"How does it work?" Elphaba asked, suddenly becoming interested.

Galinda, not being able to see why Elphaba was so interested, smiled. "All you have to do is tell the mirror what you want to see, and it will show you. For example, watch this; Mirror, please show me the Thousand Year Grasslands in the Vinkus."

The glass swirled around and soon, it showed a large field with bright green grass and scattered wildflowers. The sun beamed down on the earth and white, fluffy clouds were scattered across the sky. A few rabbits, dear and squirrels past through, running and occasionally stopping to munch on the grass. The blonde giggled in delight.

"Does it work with… people, too?" Elphaba asked.

"Of course," Galinda said, not noticing the tone of Elphaba's voice. "Who would you like to see?"

"Oh… anyone," Elphaba said.

"Okay. Mirror, please show us… Carisse."

The image of the Thousand Year Grasslands swirled and changed into a pond. Elphaba saw Carisse swimming in the water, her wet hair framing her face. The nymph laughed as she splashed around and ducked under the water. She came up and spit the water out fountain style and a few female voices out of the frame laughed before the image swirled and disappeared, leaving the girls looking at their reflections.

"Isn't this fun?" Galinda giggled.

"Yeah… fun," Elphaba said, half-distractedly as her mind reeled.

Galinda, not paying attention to Elphaba's voice, simply nodded. "I'm going to use the little girls' room," she announced, standing up and walking out, only to return a few clock-ticks later. "Um… where is it?"

"Just use a bush."

The blonde's eyes widened and she gasped in horror. "You don't!"

"Do we?" Elphaba smirked. Galinda's face only grew more horrified, and the green girl chuckled, relenting. "There's an outhouse near the edge, on the village side."

"An _outhouse_?!"

"Pick one, Glin. Either use the outhouse or a bush."

"I'd rather hold it," Galinda muttered, but left anyway.

Once she was sure that the blonde was gone, Elphaba picked up the mirror. "Mirror, please show me my birth family," she said, sounding desperate.

She stared at her reflection, waiting for the mirror to swirl and show her what she wanted. When nothing happened, she asked again… then again. Finally, as she was about to give up, the mirror began to swirl, but it didn't show her what she was looking for. Instead, it showed a young girl, about sixteen years old, sitting on a fluffy white cloud.

"Um…" Elphaba hummed.

"Hello, Elphaba. My name is Sirle, goddess of illusion. I control the images that are seen through the mirror, showing people their deepest wishes."

"I want to see my birth family. I want to know where my parents are."

The minor goddess smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Elphaba. But there are even things that are beyond my power to show."

"Why can't you show me?" Elphaba demanded.

"Sometimes, child, things are hidden away for our own good. They are to protect us."

"Can't you at least tell me my family name?"

The goddess seemed to struggle with herself. "What do you plan on doing with this information?"

"I just want to know where I came from. I don't remember anything before waking up at with the Huntresses in this camp when I was six years old."

"Well…" Sirle mulled. "I don't know if I should be doing this…"

"Please? I have to know."

Sirle shifted on her cloud and sighed. "The Olympians won't be too happy about this… but… Thropp."

Elphaba smiled. Thropp. Her full name was Elphaba Thropp. "Thank you."

Sirle flopped down onto her cloud. "I am going to be in _so_ much trouble for this," she moaned before the mirror swirled and she disappeared.

Elphaba put the mirror down. She had found out her family name. All she had to do was figure out where she came from and go out to find them.

"I'm back, Elphie," Galinda said as she flounced back into the room. "The outhouse smelled funny and I didn't want to go in a bush, but I ended up giving the outhouse a scent-makeover. It now smells like… well, whatever it smells like, it's not whatever that horrid smell was before." She wrinkled her nose and resumed her seat across from her friend. "Did you look at anything else in the mirror?"

"Oh… no," Elphaba said, handing it back to the blonde. "It's a very nice gift."

The blonde smiled. "I know. She even has one, so if I use it to see her, she can see me, too. Isn't that grand?"

"Very."

The blonde was much too bubbly to notice how distracted her friend was. Elphaba now had more information about her past. Now she can use it to find out what happened to her family.

* * *

That night, Elphaba was reading by a small pond when she noticed the sound of bubbles popping against the surface. She looked up from her book and saw Carisse slowly emerging from the water, wiping her wet hair away from her face. "Hey, Elphaba," the nymph smiled, stepping out and shaking the water from her body.

Elphaba used her book to shield herself and smiled at the younger girl. "Hi, Carisse."

"Reading by the water? I must say, that's a new one. What has brought about this sudden change?"

"I just… wanted to change it up a bit."

"Mmhmm," the younger girl hummed. "I'm going out for a run in the forest? Wanna come with?"

"I'll pass," Elphaba sighed, getting up. "I'm a bit tired."

"Long day? I heard that Galinda paid you a little visit."

"Galinda's visits are never 'little', but she did stop by, yes," Elphaba said, stretching.

Carisse nodded and waved to the green girl before disappearing into the forest. Elphaba took a deep breath before going back to her tent. She met Maia and Seraphia on the way there and asked them to stop by her tent. The two girls exchanged a look. Elphaba rarely openly invited people to her tent, so whatever it was, it must have been important.

"What's up?" Seraphia asked, sitting down on the ground next to Maia.

"Is something wrong, Elphaba?" Maia asked, concern filling her brown eyes.

Elphaba sat across from the girls. "I… I was just wondering… if you… remember much about your childhoods… you know… before you became Huntresses."

The girls blinked. "Uh…" Seraphia hummed.

"I mean… if you don't want to tell me, it's okay. I know it's kind of personal, and I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry."

"There's nothing you have to apologize for, Elphaba. We're just… um… why are you asking us?" Maia asked.

"I mean… I don't know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to come here."

"I don't think we ever told you how we became Huntresses," Seraphia said, looking at Maia, who shook her head.

"I don't think we did."

Elphaba looked up at her friends. "I don't think you did."

"Well, I'll go first," Seraphia volunteered. "My father was going to marry me off to some well-to-do family in the Vinkus. I, of course, didn't want to get married. I only met the boy once, and in the few hours we were together, I could tell that I couldn't stand him, much less spend the rest of my life with him. The boy was a jerk and all I was thinking about were ways to get out of it. I tried to talk to my father, but he put his foot down. He said that my status as a daughter of Athena would make me a valuable prize to any man, and this family happen to have _paid_ the most money for me. Disgusting, if you ask me. I hated it. The next night, I ran away. I packed up a few of my belongings, snuck out of the house and never looked back. As soon as the sun rose, my father and the boy's family began searching for me. I ran and ran and eventually lost them when I crossed the Vinkus River. I hopped onto a freight train and jumped off at Tenniken, where I ran through the forest until I eventually found a group of Huntresses, Maia among them." She paused briefly in her story to smile at the older girl. "They led me back to the camp, and once Lady Artemis heard my story, she asked me if I wanted to train and stay. I, of course, said yes and took my oath a few months later."

"Wow…" Elphaba whispered. "What happened to your father?"

"I guess he gave up trying to find me eventually. He's dead by now, and so is the boy who I was going to marry."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's okay. I'm over one hundred years old."

"And you don't look a day over ninety-five," Maia smirked. "I guess it's my turn. When I was younger, I had a pretty nice life. It was just my mother and me, since my father was busy raising and setting the sun. We lived in a nice little villa in the Gillikin; Shiz, to be specific. One night, when I was seven years old, our village was raided. I woke up in the middle of the night to shouts and screams. My mother hurried into my room and we escaped through my window and started running. She told me not to let go of her hand as we stumbled through the streets. She told me that no matter what happened, just keep running and follow everyone else and we would meet up when it was safe." The girl got a far away look in her eyes. "I saw houses on fire and many dead bodies, some burned so bad that they were unrecognizable. Everywhere I turned, people were running, screaming, and crying. At one point, my mother and I got separated, but I just followed everyone else, hoping she was doing the same. When we were all safe, I looked for her, but couldn't find her. Later that night, I snuck back to see if I could find her."

"Did you?" Elphaba asked gently.

Maia bit her lip. "I did."

"Was she… oh," Elphaba whispered, noticing the tears shimmering in the older girl's eyes. "I… I'm sorry. I… I didn't mean to…"

"It's alright, Elphaba. It happened over one hundred fifty years ago," Maia said, wiping her eyes. "Anyway, I ran away from the group, crying and devastated. I stopped in the middle of the forest and was sobbing when I felt something nudge my shoulder. I looked up and saw a female deer standing over me. She looked like she wanted me to follow her, so I did. She led me to the camp, where Lady Artemis said that she was expecting me. I guess my father spoke to her and convinced her to let me live in the camp and train when I get older. I took my vows years later and I've been here ever since."

"Is there a reason you're curious?" Seraphia asked the green girl, placing a comforting hand on Maia's shoulder.

"I… I found out my family name," Elphaba admitted softly. "It's Thropp."

"How?" Maia asked.

"That's not important. But it is all I know about my past, about my family. And I want to find out more."

"Are you sure, Elphaba? Are you sure that's what you really want?"

"Everyone else has a story. I want to know mine."

"But maybe you're not meant to know yours. Maybe something really bad happened to your family and that's why…" Seraphia stopped short. "That didn't make you feel any better, did it?"

"No," Elphaba said, shaking her head. "But I need to know. Maybe they're still alive. It's only been what… thirty to forty years. They could still be alive. I have to know. I have to meet them and talk to them, find out where I come from and what happened to me."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Maia questioned.

Elphaba leveled the girls a determined look. "By running away and finding out for myself."

* * *

 **Sirle is a minor goddess OC I made up.**


	4. A Plan in Motion

**FaerieTales4ever: LOL! How did you see Beauty and the Beast in this?**

* * *

"You're doing _what_?!" Seraphia exclaimed at the same time Maia gasped, "Are you _crazy_?!" They exchanged a look and stared at the green girl. "What are you thinking?!" they both exclaimed in unison.

"Could you be any louder? The whole camp should know about my plan," Elphaba deadpanned.

"Now is not the time for sarcasm, Elphaba," Maia said, narrowing her eyes at the green girl.

Seraphia sighed. "Maia's right, Elphaba. This is serious. Running away?"

"I have to find my family and this is the only way I can do it. Lady Artemis wouldn't allow me to go if I told her the truth."

"Elphaba, it's dangerous. You don't even know where to start looking," Seraphia pointed out.

"I'll look all over Oz if it means that I'll have a family again," Elphaba pointed out.

"You can't be serious about doing this," Maia said.

"Oh, but I am," Elphaba said. "I need to know if my family is still alive."

" _We're_ your family. The Huntresses are a family," Seraphia protested.

"I need to find my birth family."

Seraphia made to argue more, but Maia placed her hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "When do you plan on _ditching_?" It wasn't the best choice of words, but the intention was to make Elphaba flinch, which it succeeded in doing.

"I… I'm not ditching. I'll come back once I have my answers."

"Elphaba, do you know what Artemis does to huntresses who break their vows? She turns them into hunting sport and sends the hunting hounds after them. Do you really want that?" Seraphia asked pointedly.

"The oath doesn't say that I can't search for my family. The oath states, and I quote, 'I pledge myself to the Goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt'. So as long as I don't have sex while I'm gone, I won't be breaking the vow."

"Even so, Lady Artemis won't be very pleased when she finds out that one of her maidens has run away to search for a family she doesn't even know if she has or not," Seraphia said. "For all you know, this could all be a lost cause, all for nothing. There's a reason you don't have any memories of your family, Elphaba. The gods may be fickle, but they do everything for a reason. And maybe, just maybe, we're not supposed to know their reasoning."

She didn't mean for her words to cut that deep, but from the moment she finished speaking, she could tell that she did. Elphaba stared at her with wide eyes, shimmering with unushered tears before she stood up and walked out of her tent.

"Elphaba!" Maia called after her. "Wait!"

"Leave me alone," Elphaba muttered.

Maia shot the younger girl a look. Seraphia looked down, clearly embarrassed, and sighed. "I'll go apologize to her."

"No, let her cool down for a bit," the older girl said. "She needs some space right now."

Elphaba crossed her arms over her chest and stormed away from the camp. She didn't care what her friends said. She was going to find her family… as soon as possible. She didn't realize how far she was into the forest until she heard a growl behind her. She whipped around and came face to face with a pair of glowing eyes.

"Oz," the green girl muttered, followed by a string of very colorful curses.

The beast slowly approached and came into the moonlight, where Elphaba was able to identify the monster she was about to deal with. A Minotaur.

"Great. Just great," she mumbled, her shoulders slumping.

The Minotaur glared at her, looking as if it was getting ready to charge. The only warning Elphaba got was a quick roar before the monster charged at her. She quickly jumped out of the way before scrambling to her feet and running. The monster turned and chased her through the forest. The green girl stumbled, but kept running until she tripped over a tree root she didn't see. She beast quickly approached her and roared, ready to swallow her whole. The green girl gulped, knowing that this was the end, when she heard the beast growl in pain. She looked and saw an arrow sticking out of its side. The monster roared and turned to where the arrow had come from. Elphaba looked over and saw someone, around eighteen or nineteen years old, standing on an oak tree branch. She couldn't get a good look at him, but she could still tell that he was very muscular. He aimed his bow and arrow at the Minotaur and fired, hitting him in the side again. The beast growled charging at the boy. When he was close enough, the boy jumped into the Minotaur's back and began riding it like a horse. Finally, he pulled out his sword and, grunting, stabbed the beast in the back. The Minotaur let out one final roar before collapsing to the ground, dead.

Elphaba hadn't realized she was holding her breath until the guy slowly approached her. She had never seen a guy before… or at least, she didn't _remember_ seeing one before.

"Hey," he said, offering her his hand. "Are you alright?"

Elphaba found herself staring at the man in front of her. He had dark brown hair that was a bit of a ruffled mess on top of his head. When he smiled, she could clearly see his dimples. He was tanned from the probably many hours he spent in the sun. His dark brown tunic was slightly dirty and smelled of tree wood and sweat. "You're a… male." _Real smooth, Elphaba._

The man blinked and chuckled softly. "Yes, I suppose I am." He took her hand and helped her to her feet. "I'm Fiyero, son of Dionysus and a hero-in-training," he said proudly, puffing out his chest. "And who might you be?"

She had to admit, she was very intrigued by the young man standing in front of her. She had never seen one up close… or at all, for that matter. Sure, she had read about them in her books, but to see one with her own two eyes was a completely different story. She couldn't take her eyes off of the goofy smile on his lips when she quickly remembered who _she_ was and who _he_ was. She was a Huntress of Artemis, and therefore, he was off-limits. "I… have to go."

"Wait!" the hero-in-training called, but she didn't turn around. "At least tell me your name!"

"It's none of your business."

"That's not a nice way to treat someone who just saved your life!" Fiyero shouted as he jogged over to her and sped walked to keep up with her.

"I didn't need you to save my life. I'm not a damsel in distress," Elphaba argued.

"Yeah… I could really tell while you were laying on the dirt ground, waiting for the Minotaur to eat you for dinner. Can I at least get a thank you or something? Usually, a damsel in distress thanks a hero by giving him a kiss."

Elphaba stopped in her tracks and slowly turned to face him. "You want a kiss?"

"If you won't give me a simple thank you, and since you're a pretty girl and I'm a handsome hero… in training, yes."

Elphaba gave him her best charming smile, though hidden behind it, was a smirk. "You _really_ want a kiss?"

The hero began to swoon. "Sure."

Elphaba bit back a cackle as she watched him pucker up his lips. When he was close enough, she punched him square in the mouth, watching as he fell to the ground. "Kiss that!"

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For being such an idiot! Thinking that I would give you a kiss just because you killed a monster. I could have killed five of those at once!"

"But you couldn't even kill this one!" Fiyero said, pointing to the dead body of the beast.

"I didn't have my weapons on me," Elphaba admitted. "And what made you think that I would kiss you anyway? We just met!"

"That's what it says in the handbook!" the hero moaned, though he was covering up his mouth. "Other girls have done it to me before."

"Well, I'm not _other girls_!"

"This is what I get for trying to be a hero."

"No, that's what you get for being so full of yourself," Elphaba said as she turned on her heels and walked back to the camp. She tried to push this new feeling away, not exactly knowing what it was, but knowing that she didn't want to be feeling it. She hadn't met her first boy for more than ten minutes and she already hated him. Maybe that's why she had taken an oath to never be with one. She wasn't sure she wanted to anyway, now that she actually had an encounter with one. She supposed that she could have thanked that boy (whose name she had already forgotten) for saving her from the Minotaur, but she could have defeated it all by herself… if she had her weapons with her. She didn't need a guy saving her. She was an elite Huntress of Artemis. She could save her Oz-damned self. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she just couldn't shake off how cute he looked sprawled on the forest floor after she punched him. He didn't even say anything about her skin. Maybe he thought it was a simple trick of the moon. But it didn't matter anyway. She would never see him again.

She found her way back to the camp, exhausted. She knew she would have to find Maia and Seraphia, but they were probably asleep. She opened her tent and was about to collapse onto her bed when she noticed that someone was already in her bed.

"How do you sleep on this rock? It's so uncomfortable! Although, knowing you, I wasn't expecting you to be floating on a cloud from Mount Olympus," Carisse said as she stood up, rubbing her sore back.

"Carisse? What are you doing here?" Elphaba asked, staring at the younger girl.

"I went out for my run and I saw you. You looked really upset and I was about to ask you what was wrong when I noticed the Minotaur. I was gonna warn you, but the monster beat me to it. Then I saw that guy save you and your brief chitchat with him. I almost died laughing when you punched him in the mouth. I couldn't hear what you two were talking about, but he asked you for a kiss, didn't he?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Heroes can be like that. They're harmless teddy bears, just a bit full of themselves at times. Anyway, I thought I would beat you here and we could have a talk." Carisse moved to sit on a cushion on the floor and Elphaba moved to sit closer to her. "Maia and Seraphia told me what happened. About you running away, that is."

Elphaba sighed. "Because the more people that know about this, the better."

"We're not going to tell anyone, especially Lady Artemis. We just want to talk with you about it, make sure this is what you really want."

"It is. Everyone else seems to be able to remember a time when they had a family except for me."

"They also told me that they told you their stories. But personally, I think you would relate more to mine."

Elphaba looked up at the nymph sitting across from her, waiting for her to elaborate.

"I'm a water nymph. I was formed from sea foam. I never had any parents; it was just the water nymphs and me. I was never a baby and never grew older. I was just… formed. I soon noticed that I wasn't like the other nymphs. I didn't really like flirting with the satyrs or other heroes that passed our waters. I was more aggressive and preferred being by myself than with boys. I was different and was often teased because of it. At first, it started out as playful teasing among friends, but then it started to turn mean. I would try to fit in, but it just didn't seem right for me. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and left. I had heard stories about the Huntresses of Artemis and had even met one. I felt like I would be right at home with this group of girls. I finally found the base and started training, although it would probably have gone quicker if I didn't get so afraid of blood."

Elphaba chuckled softly, knowing about the nymph's fear of blood in extensive amounts.

"After a few weeks, I passed the training test, took my oath, and I've been here ever since."

"Thanks, Carisse. I think I do relate more with that… in terms of not having parents and being around girls all my life."

"I did have my fair share of encounters with the male species. Some of them are rather interesting. Some of them are very smart, but most of them think with their… you know… before using their brains."

Elphaba rolled her eyes.

"Well, it's getting late. I'm gonna get some shut-eye. See you tomorrow, Elphaba," Carisse said, giving her friend a hug before going back to her own tent.

"Goodnight," Elphaba said, waiting until she thought Carisse was a safe distance away. Once she was sure she was gone, she began to pack up her belongings. She packed a bag full of extra clothes, a canteen of water, extra berries and bread, some books, the little money she had, and her bow and quiver of arrows. Once she finished, she yawned and fell asleep.

Before Apollo raised the sun the following morning, Elphaba was gone, leaving only a scribbled note on her bed.

* * *

 **Well, that was a nice, little, Fiyeraba first encounter, wasn't it? We shall see more of our special little Fiyero soon.**


	5. A Ways To Fall

**LifelongLeahstar: Um… "Sad" wouldn't be the word I would use to describe Artemis when she finds out. Just… well, you'll see.**

 **Doglover645: Well, this is half Greek Mythology. And when has Greek Mythology ever ended with everyone happy?**

 **AirHawk19" I can confirm that Narcissus wasn't Galinda's father. And yes, I did get some inspiration for Fiyero from Disney's Hercules! Thanks for noticing!**

 **Torchakaywrites: But we don't know anything about Elphaba's family yet. *Smirk***

* * *

"I hope she gets a terrible sunburn," Maia muttered under her breath as she read Elphaba's note over Carisse's shoulder. She looked up towards the sun, as if giving her father a hint.

"I can't believe she actually did this," Seraphia sighed, also reading over Carisse's shoulder.

"I smell trouble," Carisse groaned.

Maia sniffed the air. "I smell it, too."

Seraphia rolled her eyes. "No, Maia. It's just an expression. It means –"

"I _know_ it's an expression, Sera," Maia said, also rolling her eyes. "I meant - wait! What's that smell? It smells like… smoke..."

The girls came out of Elphaba's tent and found the girls gathering in the center by the large statue of Artemis, with two lit torches on the side. The goddess herself was standing there, next to a young girl about eighteen years old.

"Dear sweet Oz," Carisse muttered. "How could we have forgotten? Atella is taking her oath today."

"Maybe Lady Artemis won't notice Elphaba missing for a while," Seraphia suggested lightly.

"How is she not going to notice the only girl with green skin is absent?" Maia deadpanned sarcastically.

"You know what? You can just…"

The girls started arguing quietly until Carisse nudged both of them in the ribs, successfully shutting them up.

"My loyal Huntresses," Artemis began and everyone quieted down. "Today, we shall welcome a new member officially into the fold. Are we all present?"

"Yes, Lady Artemis," the girls chorused.

"Err…" Seraphia moaned softly, biting her lip.

The goddess turned toward the young girl and smiled. "Now, Atella, do you solemnly vow to stand by your fellow sisters in arms, join in hunts, and fight with all the dignity of a true Huntress?"

"I do," Atella said, her soft, yet strong, voice filling the air.

"Recite your oath."

"I pledge myself to the Goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt."

"I accept your oath and officially welcome you into the sisterhood," Artemis smiled as she waved her hand over the young girl's head. An aura of yellow light surrounded her and lifted her a few inches into the air. The girls covered their eyes and waited for the light to die down. After a few clock-ticks, they slowly uncovered their eyes and saw Atella surrounded by a fainter glow. They knew that it was only part of the process and would die out in a few minutes, and they began cheering for their new sister-in-arms.

Seraphia, Maia, and Carisse clapped along with everyone, trying not to let their nerves show. They tried to sneak away once everything was over, but Artemis' voice called them back.

"Where is Elphaba? I did not see her," the goddess asked.

"We haven't seen her," Seraphia and Carisse said at the exact same time Maia said, "She's sick." The girls looked at each other. "Yeah… she went to the village early this morning to the apothecary to pick up some medicine," Maia said, hoping she sounded convincing.

"We have medicine here," Artemis said.

"Yes, but she needed something extra strong. It was really bad stomach bug that was going around a few weeks ago. She caught it late."

Artemis blinked. "Very well, then. Since Elphaba is sick, Maia, you will be taking over all her duties, which include giving the hunting dogs a bath."

"Yes, Lady Artemis," Maia curtsied, shouting every possible curse word in her head.

"Good," the goddess nodded and walked away, disappearing inside her tent.

"I _will_ kill Elphaba for this," the daughter of Apollo growled.

"Not unless Lady Artemis beats you to it," Carisse muttered.

"We have to find her and bring her back," Seraphia said.

"You think we can do that before I have to give those dogs a bath?" Maia said as she watched the dogs rolling in the mud. "Oz, it's like they _know_ I'm going to wash them!"

"She could be anywhere by now. How would we know where to look?" Carisse asked.

"We don't. That's the problem."

Seraphia sighed. "We can't just leave and wing it. Lady Artemis would know."

"Maybe one of us could go," Carisse suggested.

"Then the other two would have to cover for both that person and Elphaba. Let's face it, we need a plan," Maia said as she and Carisse both shifted their gazes to Seraphia.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Seraphia blinked.

"Someone has to think of a plan, and who better than the daughter of the goddess of wisdom?" Maia smirked.

The younger girl groaned. "Can't I just ask my mother? I can get Iris down here and -"

"To the thinking tent!" Carisse smiled, linking her arms with Seraphia's and Maia's and pulling both of them towards Seraphia's tent.

* * *

Elphaba watched as the sun slowly began to rise. She sighed, not knowing how long she had been walking, but knowing that she should probably rest soon. She was far away enough from the camp and knew the girls would cover for her. The forest was much larger than she thought and she knew she probably wouldn't make it to the edge until the end of the week. She decided to rest for a moment. She pulled out a book and munched on a few berries and continued on her journey.

After three days of walking, she still hadn't reached the edge of the forest, but she _had_ run out of food and water. She stopped at a spring and quickly refilled her canteen and searched around for some berries. She found a bush of dark red berries and quickly began to pick them and place them in her bag.

"I wouldn't eat those if I were you."

Elphaba whipped around to identify the voice, and stiffened when she saw who it was. It was the "hero-in-training" (whose name she didn't remember) who tried to save her life… even though he had succeeded, but that was beside the point. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just walking around when I heard rustling. I came over and decided that I should warn you against eating those berries."

Her gaze still didn't soften. "And why is that?"

"They're poisonous."

Brown eyes rolled. "I highly doubt that."

"No, I'm dead serious. Which is exactly what you're gonna be if you eat those berries… dead, I mean, not serious, because dead people can't be serious."

"Look, I really don't need your help."

"You did the first time."

"Which was completely different."

"Either way, don't eat those berries." He stepped over and tried to take the berries out of her hand. He grabbed her wrist and, acting on reflexes, Elphaba grabbed him and flipped him so he landed unceremoniously hard on his back. She smirked in satisfaction as she plopped the berries into her mouth and continued picking from the bush.

"Ow! Okay, seriously, what is it with you and making me…" He stopped short when he saw her chewing. "Dear Oz…" he muttered, pushing himself to his feet as Elphaba's eyes rolled into the back of her head. He managed to catch her before she fell to the ground, unconscious.

"You just _had_ to eat the berries, didn't you?" he sighed, picking her and her bag up before turning and hurriedly carrying her away.

* * *

"Elphaba is still not back. I have not seen her. Do you girls know where she is?"

Maia, Carisse, and Seraphia looked down at their laps. The goddess had called them into her tent when, after three days, Elphaba was still nowhere to be found.

"Still in the village," Seraphia said, though it sounded more like a question.

"I personally made a trip to the village myself, and asked the apothecary if he had seen a green girl. He said no."

 _Caught!_

 _Busted!_

 _Crap!_

The girls' thoughts jumbled together as they tried to think of another excuse. "She's…" Seraphia started.

"I do not want any more lies, girls. I want the truth. Where has Elphaba gone?"

The girls developed an interest in the ground as they avoided the goddess' gaze.

"Girls, I will not ask another time."

"She should be back," Carisse said softly.

"I know that. The question is… when?"

"Soon?" Seraphia whimpered sheepishly.

The goddess didn't look amused as she rose to her full height. "When I find out where she is, there will be serious repercussions." She walked to the tent flap, then turned around to face the girls. "For _all_ of you."

The girls gulped as they watched the goddess leave.

"We gotta tell her," Maia said, releasing the breath she was holding.

"Yeah, _you_ can tell her," Carisse said, pointing at the older girl.

"It doesn't matter who tells her. We're all gonna be in big trouble. You think Hades will let us into Elysium after Lady Artemis kills us?" Seraphia asked.

"Maybe she'll have mercy and not kill us. I mean, we really didn't do anything, other than cover up for Elphaba and lie… but that's all."

"She's not that soft. She'll either kill us directly, or turn us into an animal to hunt. Either way, we're going down," Maia said.

"Straight down," Carisse whimpered.

The next morning, Maia gathered up the courage to go up to her aunt and try to explain things.

"Okay, you two wait here," she said, pointing to the bushes a few feet away. "I'll be right back… probably… hopefully…"

"Good luck," Seraphia said, giving her friend what she hoped wasn't a final hug.

"Yeah. Good luck," Carisse said, joining in.

"Thanks… I'll need it," Maia said, gently pulling away and putting on a brave face before walking towards her aunt's tent. She looked back at her friend, who gave her encouraging, and sympathetic, waves, and gulped down the lump forming in her throat. "Lady Artemis?"

The tent flap opened and the goddess appeared. "Maia."

The younger girl nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "I… um… I have something that I want… well, not really _want_ , because I didn't really want to tell you this, at least this soon, but it's kind of important that I -"

"Maia," the goddess interrupted, somewhat impatiently. "What is it?"

"Uh… c-can we talk? Like… inside?" Maia asked, forcing a nervous smile.

Artemis regarded her before stepping aside, allowing the girl to enter. Carisse and Seraphia watched from the distance, their fingers crossed behind their backs.

"What did you wish to see me about?" Artemis asked as she sat across from the young Huntress.

"Well, you see… it's about Elphaba. I… ah… know where she is… or at least… what's she's going to do."

Artemis was clearly listening. "Yes?"

"She… but before I tell you, could you… promise me something?"

Artemis gave her a look. "What?"

"Just… please don't kill me… or turn me into something to kill."

Artemis sighed, but waved her hand, telling the girl that she promised.

Maia took a deep breath. "SinceElphabadoesn'thaveanymemoriesofherfamilybeforeshecamehere,sheranawaytotryandseeifshecouldfindthem."

Artemis blinked. "I did not catch any of that."

 _That was the point_ , Maia thought. "Since Elphaba doesn't have any memories of her family before she came here, she ran away to try and see if she could find them."

 _"WHAT!?"_

"Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me!" Maia begged.

"WHERE DID SHE GO!?"

"I… I don't know," Maia said meekly. "Just… in case I haven't asked already… please don't kill me!"

Artemis' eyes were glowing bright yellow, a sign that Maia knew was _not_ a good one. A bright ball of yellow energy appeared in her hand and the younger girl knew she was in for it.

"I'll just… um… see myself out. Bye!" She waved and quickly hurried out of the tent, running as fast as her legs could carry her. Oz, why couldn't she have been the daughter of the god of speed?

"How'd it go?" Carisse asked as Maia ran past her and Seraphia.

"Run away as fast as you can!" Maia said quickly, zipping past them.

The girls looked up and saw the angry goddess quickly approaching them. Before they had the chance to fully process what was happening, the goddess grabbed the two girls and marched over to Maia. With a quick head nod, she froze her nieces' legs and grabbed her as well.

"We shoulda ran," Seraphia muttered, glancing over at Carisse.

"WHERE. DID. SHE. GO?!" the goddess yelled, causing all heads to turn towards her.

"We don't know. All she did was leave a note telling us that she was going to run away," Maia whimpered, still unable to move the lower half of her body.

"Does she know her last name?" the goddess asked urgently.

"Uh… yes," Carisse whimpered.

Artemis stiffened. "Dear Zeus, she knows her last name. This is worse than I thought." She dropped the girls to the ground and hurried back into her tent.

The spell immediately faded once the girl hit the ground. They quickly scrambled up and followed her, once they were sure that the goddess' anger had shifted off of them and onto Elphaba. "What's so bad about her knowing her last name?" Carisse asked when they reached the tent.

Artemis pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's a very long and complicated story."

"Can you tell us?" Seraphia asked.

Artemis gave the younger girl a look and Seraphia shrank back. But before she knew it, the goddess launched the entire story at the girls.

"Wow," Seraphia said when she finished.

"That is long," Carisse blinked.

"And complicated," Maia added.

"And very, _very_ bad," Artemis said.

"We can help find her," Seraphia said, and the other two girls gave her a sideways look.

Artemis shook her head. "I have enough trouble with one huntress missing. I do not want to lose three more."

"You aren't losing us. We're going to help you find her," Carisse said. "Please?"

"I appreciate your help, but this is something I must handle on my own. Old wounds are about to be opened, and I do not want the three of you mixed up in this. You will stay here."

"But –" Maia tried to protest.

"No buts. You will stay here." Artemis' voice left no room for argument.

"Yes, ma'am," the girls chorused.

"Good. I shall be taking a visit to Olympus. We will find Elphaba ourselves," Artemis said before disappearing in a poof of yellow smoke.

"It's what you'll _do_ to Elphaba when you find her that we're worried about," Maia muttered.

"We have to find Elphaba first, before they do," Carisse said.

"How? Lady Artemis told us not to leave," Seraphia said.

"We'll just go on a little hunt," the nymph smirked. "And we'll hunt down _Elphaba_."

"You're good," Maia snickered.

"I still don't think this is a good idea," Seraphia muttered. "I thought this through more and –"

"Then we'd better get packing!" Carisse said, hurrying away.

"But… no! I said –" the younger demigod protested, but found that she was only talking to open air. "Fine. Whatever. Don't listen to me. It's not like I care." Sighing, she followed them, dragging her feet in the dirt.


	6. A Partner in Crime

**LifelongLeahstar: If Elphaba died right now, we wouldn't have any conflict and the story would be over.**

 **Chanty420: Thank you!**

* * *

"Order, everyone! Please! Order!" Zeus said as he clapped his hands, and the twelve Olympians quieted down. "Now, I have called this meeting because my daughter, Artemis, said that she needed urgent help in an urgent matter. Artemis, care to explain?"

"One of my Huntresses, Elphaba, has run away," the goddess of the hunt said.

The gods and goddesses gasped.

"She has run away to find her family, and we all know why that cannot happen."

"It's not like Atlas will stop holding up the sky if she finds out," Hermes said.

"Shut up, Hermes! Nobody asked you!" Artemis snapped.

"Artemis, there's no reason to be so harsh," Hera said.

"You would just _love_ for something bad to happen to her, now wouldn't you, Hera?" the goddess of the hunt snapped before sitting back on her throne, crossing her arms over her chest. "Nevertheless, people's lives hang in the balance if she finds out, and not just hers."

"So… why are we here?" Aphrodite asked.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean… why are we here? Why aren't you searching for her? She's _your_ huntress."

"Because I need help. I don't know where she went. And at this point, she could be anywhere. So we'll need to split up and search for her."

"And what do you want us to do if one of us catches her?" Athena asked.

"Bring her back to me."

"And what will _you_ do?" Apollo asked.

"That is my business and my business alone." Artemis gave the gods and goddesses different places in Oz to search and the meeting was adjourned. They immediatly began searching immediately for the runaway green girl before too much trouble was caused.

* * *

Elphaba moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She heard something to her left, and immediately shot up, but strong arms pushed her back down.

"Don't get up," the voice said, gently pushing her back down.

"Oz, my head," Elphaba moaned, shutting her eyes against the light. When she opened them again, she saw the boy who had tried to warn her about the berries. "What… What did you do to me?"

"Me? _I_ didn't do anything, except try to warn you against eating those berries. _You_ just didn't listen."

Elphaba blinked. "You said those berries were poisonous…"

"Yes, I did, because they are."

"And I'm not dead?"

"Luckily, I had enough medicine to give to you before the berries finished their job. If I didn't, you'd be on a slow path to Hades right now."

"Medicine?"

"Yes, medicine. How else do you think I saved you?"

"But how…"

"I laid you in that bed, tilted your head back, opened your mouth, and poured it down your throat. It was actually very easy, considering you weren't protesting, which is something that I find you do very often, no matter what the situation is."

Elphaba simply regarded him. "Where am I?"

"And you also ask a lot of questions," Fiyero chuckled, but Elphaba's gaze only hardened. "You're in my house, near the edge of the forest."

"Your… house?"

"Fine, _cottage_. Happy now?"

Elphaba looked around. The cottage wasn't very big. She was in the bedroom, and could see the kitchen through the sitting room. It wasn't anything fancy, but it at least looked livable.

The hero-in-training left her side and went into the kitchen. He came back with a bowl of a dark brown thick liquid. "Here. Drink this."

"What is it?"

"Something that will help you get your strength back quickly. You seem like the type of person that doesn't like to be tied down for very long."

Elphaba looked at the bowl, then back at the boy. Knowing that she didn't have any other choices, she sighed and drank the liquid. She sputtered and coughed, not expecting it to taste so… bitter. With some unnecessary encouragement from Fiyero, she finished it off.

"You should be fine by tomorrow," Fiyero said, taking the bowl back and watching as Elphaba wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "So," he said as he pulled up a chair next to her bed and sat down. "Tell me about yourself."

Elphaba eyed him. "And why should I?"

"Well, I saved your life, twice, and you didn't give me so much as a 'thank you', and you're in my house, and you _punched_ me when we first met… so I think that qualifies you to at least tell me your name."

"Elphaba," the green girl said after a pause.

"Elphaba…"

"What?"

"Your last name. What's your last name?"

"…Thropp."

"What are out doing out here?"

"It's a long story."

"I have time."

"Why are you so interested in me?"

"Something about you trying to kill me turned me on," Fiyero deadpanned.

Elphaba regarded him, searching for even the slightest notion that she should kill him right then and there. Slightly annoyed and disappointed that she only saw sincerity in his eyes, she told him her story… or at least, a small part of it. "I'm a Huntress of Artemis. I woke up in her camp when I was six years old and I have no memories of what happened to me before that. It's like I simply appeared out of thin air." She told him the rest of her story and Fiyero listened quietly.

"Wow," he said when she was finished. "That's some story."

"Tell me about it," Elphaba muttered. "So, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"What's your story?"

Fiyero smiled thoughtfully at her. "Well… I was born Fiyero Liir Tigulaar, the only son of the queen of the Vinkus, Amalie Litria Tigulaar. My father is Dionysus, god of wine and partying. He and my mom met when my mom was already married to my stepfather, King Raal, so everyone thought that I was his. I loved parties growing up, everything from birthday parties to the annual Lurlinemas Ball thrown at the Vinkun castle every year. I had a pretty nice childhood. I was loved by everyone, especially my parents. But when I was around fifteen, my stepfather somehow found out that I wasn't his biological son. To this day, I don't know how, but he did, and he found out who my real father is. _I_ didn't even know at the time. One evening at dinner, he poisoned my mother's wine cup. All I could do was watch as she slowly died, my stepfather yelling at her about how she had dishonored herself and our family by being unfaithful. Once she was dead, he took out a knife and tried to kill me as well, but I ran. I ran and ran and never looked back. I lived on the streets for a year or two, occasionally stealing food to survive, until I saw a flyer for a hero training camp in the Gillikin. I hopped onto the back of a train and rode to the camp. I told them that I was a son of Dionysus and they let me in. I've been training there ever since."

"Do you ever plan on returning to the Vinkus?"

"I can't. I was banished by my stepfather. At first, he sent his soldiers out to hunt and kill me, but I guess he gave up or thinks I'm dead. He's remarried now and has a new family."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm fine now." Both of them were silent for a moment. "So… you're going to try and find your family?"

"Yeah. I mean… I don't even know where to look yet, but someone somewhere has to remember a girl with green skin. Speaking of… you didn't seem put off the first time you saw me."

"I must admit, the first time I saw you, I thought it was a trick of the moon, or that I was just seeing things," Fiyero chuckled. "Then I thought about it more, and thought that you were some sort of exotic forest nymph."

This time, Elphaba chuckled. "That does seem like the most logical explanation people think of."

"But… you're mortal?"

"As far as I know."

"No godly parent?"

"Not that I know of."

They lapsed into silence again.

"Thanks."

Fiyero looked up. "Huh?"

"Thanks… for saving my life… twice."

"Oh. Um… you're welcome… twice."

Elphaba smiled slightly at him, then covered her mouth to yawn.

"You should get some rest. You should be back on your feet tomorrow. Then you can continue on your way," Fiyero said as he pulled the blanket over her.

"Thanks," Elphaba muttered, already half asleep.

* * *

Maia, Seraphia, and Carisse were sitting on beach towels near the pond, soaking in the sun's rays. They were interrupted by the sound of a flute and lyre playing a melody and the looked up to see Galinda.

"What do you girls think? I'm trying out this new appearance. I was thinking about adding a large pink tulip that opens up and then I step out of it and then… hey, where's Elphie?"

"I like the idea of the pink tulip," Carisse smiled, causing Seraphia and Maia to roll their eyes.

"There's something we need to tell you," Seraphia said to the blonde girl.

"Is this about Elphie?"

"Yeah. Follow us," Maia said, standing up and leading the girls back to her tent. "Okay, you want the long version or the short version?"

"Whichever version is quicker."

The three huntresses exchanged a look. "Elphaba ran away to try and find her family and it's very bad for many reasons," Seraphia explained.

"I think I heard about that. Momsie was ranting about this morning. She said that she now has to go search the lower Vinkus for her. Poor Elphie."

"And the three of us are going to find her before Lady Artemis, or one of the other gods or goddesses, do," Carisse said.

"I'll come with you," Galinda said.

"Um… no offense, Galinda, but um… this is huntress stuff. You wouldn't understand it," Carisse said gently.

The blonde pouted. "What do you mean I won't understand it?"

"The conditions might be very touch. We might have to fight off several monsters along the way," Maia explained.

"We might get dirty," Seraphia added.

"Oh, we _will_ get dirty," Carisse corrected.

The blonde made a face at the thought of getting dirty. "Fine. Just… be careful and bring her back safely."

"We'll try," Seraphia said, smiling softly at the blonde.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Elphaba asked the next morning when she was awoken by the sound of something clashing together.

The ex-Vinkun prince came into the bedroom, fully dressed in combat clothes and carrying a bag of what appeared to be food. "I'm coming with you."

"Why?"

"Because you might need more help. Who else is gonna tell you which berries to eat and which ones will send you straight to the Underworld?"

"I don't need help. And you could have simply written me a list."

"Aww! But that wouldn't have been as much fun."

Elphaba narrowed her eyes at him. "You are not coming with me."

"Why not?"

 _Because I'm feeling this new, weird feeling about you and I don't know what to do with it_ , Elphaba thought. "Because I said so."

"That's not a good enough answer!"

"No."

"A quest isn't as fun without a partner in crime."

"And I suppose you want to fill the unnecessary position?"

"Hey, just because it's not necessary doesn't mean that it won't be better with it."

Elphaba considered him. "Fine. You can come with me." The hero-in-training looked positively gleeful, but the smile faded when Elphaba grabbed him by the front of his toga and pulled him so close that their noses almost touched. "But hear me very carefully. Try one thing funny and I will rearrange your limbs."

"Agreed," Fiyero whimpered, though he couldn't shake the feeling of Elphaba's breath tickling his lips.

Elphaba released him and went to get ready. She came back wearing a new toga and her hair brushed and in a braid down her back. "Let's go."

The two made sure they had everything they needed. Fiyero refilled Elphaba's water canteen and filled up his own before opening the door, and stopping in his tracks when he saw who it was.

"Fiyero?" Elphaba asked, coming up behind him. "What's wro- oh Oz."

"Well, well, well…" a young, beardless man with shining golden hair, covered by a traveler's cap, and a light brown toga smirked. He was hovering two inches over the ground with his winged sandals and held a caduceus in his right hand. "Look who I found."

* * *

 **Dun! Dun! Dun! Does anyone know who our successful Fiyeraba tracker is? And extra points to anyone who can guess which Broadway musical I got the title from.**


	7. A Little Bit Complicated

**FaerieTales4ever: YES! The title was from "Tuck Everlasting". I got to see it two days before it closed on Broadway (and stagedoored and met the cast!). It was such a beautiful musical!**

* * *

"H-Hey, Hermes. Long time, no see," Fiyero said, chuckling nervously. "Wh-What brings you by?"

" _Someone_ decided to run away from home and Artemis, being the ever-so-motherly goddess she is, sent us out to find her," the god of travelers said, looking over Fiyero's shoulder at the green girl. "Oh look! Found her!"

Elphaba's shoulders slumped. Somewhere deep down, she knew that it would have been hopeless.

"Look, Hermes, we can explain…" Fiyero started.

"You just better be glad I found you guys before Artemis did. She's mad and worried enough about Elphaba, but to see her with a guy would probably near give her a heart attack."

"Hermes, please," Elphaba spoke up. "I really need to do this."

The Olympian looked at Elphaba. "Elphaba, Artemis is worried sick over you. I have to take you back to her. The sooner you return, the less-bad the repercussions will be… hopefully."

"I know, but I really have to finish this. I have to find my family. Please, Hermes."

The Olympian sighed. "She told us that as soon as we find you, to let her know and bring you back to her." He tapped his fingers on his chin, though he looked very serious. "So, there's only one thing I can do."

Elphaba bit her lip.

"I'm going to help you."

"Hermes, you don't understand, please, I have to – wait, what?" Elphaba blinked.

"I'm going to help you," Hermes smiled. "Maybe that will teach Artemis not to be so mean to me."

Elphaba was shocked and Fiyero looked completely overjoyed. "Thank you," she managed to say after a while.

"Don't mention it. Especially to Artemis. As you can imagine, she wouldn't be the happiest to find out," the Olympian smiled. "Alright, kids! Got your things?"

Fiyero smiled. "We do."

"Then let's hit the road!" The god of travelers led them through the forest to the train tracks on the edge of the woods.

"Where are we going?" Fiyero asked when they stopped.

The Olympian waved his hand and two train tickets appeared in his hand. "You youngsters are going on a little field trip. These tickets will get you to Dixxi House. Get off there and take the Gillikin River down to the Vinkus. I recommend starting your search there. The Traum station is a few miles north. You'll have to walk it."

"Thank you, Hermes," Elphaba said again.

"You're welcome, Elphaba. I hope you find what you're looking for." In all honesty, he hoped she didn't. There was so much at stake, but he saw in her eyes that she really needed to find her family. And he was sending her to the Vinkus, farther away from where Artemis was in Munchkinland. Who knew, maybe she would find what she was looking for.

* * *

"Ready?" Maia asked as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"No," Seraphia whimpered.

"Good! Let's go," Carisse smiled.

"I still think this isn't such a smart idea," Seraphia said.

"We have to find Elphaba," Maia said, stuffing the map into her bag.

The other two girls followed her out. They were almost out of the camp when a voice called them back.

"Where do you three think you're going?"

The girls whipped around to see Antheia, one of the original Huntresses standing a few feet away from them. "We were going on a hunt," Carisse said nonchalantly.

"With all that baggage?"

"We pack heavy," Seraphia said.

The huntress narrowed her eyes at the group. "Lady Artemis left me in charge and said that no one was to leave the camp for any reason. We don't need to go on a hunt, and we won't until she returns."

"But –" Seraphia protested.

"No buts. Am I understood?"

"Yes," the three girl grumbled.

"Good," Antheia nodded and left.

"What do we do now?" Carisse sighed. "That was our only way out."

"We'll wait until early tomorrow morning, before everyone else wakes up. We can have a sleepover in my tent and that will give us more time to review our plan," Maia said, dragging her things back to her tent.

"You know, I'm starting to think that this might not be such a good plan after all. Sneaking out and trying to find Elphaba, I mean," Carisse said after a while as they walked back.

Seraphia merely gave her a look and slapped her arm before turning and walking away.

* * *

"It's been almost a week. Has anyone found her?" Artemis asked as the Olympians gathered in the throne room of Mount Olympus.

A chorus of "nos" and "I'm sorrys" floated amongst the gods. Well… all except for Hermes.

"You're being awfully quiet," Athena said, looking at the god of travelers.

"Hermes, have you found Elphaba?" Artemis asked.

"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't," Hermes said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Arg! Now is not the time to act like a baby, you dolt!" the goddess shouted.

Hermes clicked his teeth. "Learning something aggression from Ares, aren't we?"

The god of war didn't even look up from where he was polishing his sword.

"I'll show you aggression!" Artemis growled before rising from her throne and advancing at Hermes, grabbing him by the front of his toga. "Where. Is. Elphaba?"

"Probably half-way across Oz by now."

 _"WHAT?!"_

"I sent her and her new friend on a little fun adventure."

"New friend? What new friend?"

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Hermes smirked. He knew this news would make his half-sister furious, and he took pleasure in doing so. "You're gonna _love_ this. She made friends with Fiyero Tigulaar, the _son_ of Dionysus. They're so close that she even stayed over at his house for a night."

Everyone turned to look at Dionysus briefly before turning back to Artemis. The goddess's eyes turned yellow in rage and steam was literally coming out of her ears.

"Don't ask me what they did, though. I don't go _that_ personal," Hermes said, shimming away from the steaming goddess.

"Artemis…" Athena said gently, placing her hands on her shoulders.

"Don't. Touch. Me!" Artemis growled, punching Athena in the gut and sending her flying into the wall.

"Hermes, why would you do that?" Hephaestus asked.

"Do what?" Hermes questioned.

"Not return Elphaba to Artemis."

"Maybe that will teach her not to be hostile to me," Hermes said, glaring at Artemis.

"I think you'd better get your son before Artemis does," Athena said to Dionysus, recovering from crashing against the wall, rubbing the back of her head.

"Artemis, there is nothing to worry about. I know Fiyero, and he would never dare to touch or do anything to Elphaba in any way that wasn't deemed appropriate," the god of wine said gently.

"I don't care about your party-crazed, half-drunken son, Dionysus," Artemis sighed.

Dionysus narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything.

"It's Elphaba I'm worried about. And since none of you are being of help, I will just continue this on my own."

"Artemis, we do want to help you," Demeter spoke up. "Really, we do."

"How hard is it to track down a green teenager?" Artemis asked incredulously.

"Artemis, darling, don't you think you're getting too wound up about this?" the goddess of the hearth, Hestia, asked quietly.

"I agree with Hestia," Hera said, surprising everyone.

"Again, you would be the only one to despise Elphaba. She had _nothing_ to do with what happened," Artemis growled.

"And you're standing up for her?" Hera challenged.

"It wasn't her fault."

"Yet someone has to pay."

"People _have_ paid."

"Not enough. It never should have happened anyway."

Artemis knew that arguing with the queen of the gods wouldn't do much good, so she shut her mouth and turned away.

"I'm sorry," Hera said after a while, though it sounded insincere. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"No," Artemis said shortly. "And don't even bother to help me look for her. And that goes for all of you. I don't trust any of you to do what I ask, so I will do it on my own."

"Artemis…" Ares started, but the goddess had already stormed out of the room.

The Olympians looked at each other and sighed. "Let her learn the hard way. You can't play with fate. There are some things even we Olympians should not get involved in," Hera said.

"If that were the case, none of this would be happening right now," Aphrodite said, glaring at the queen.

"Thank you, Aphrodite. When your opinion is needed, I will request it," Hera said.

"Now, dear…" Zeus sighed.

"If this meeting is adjourned, I have things I must finish."

The lord of the sky bit back a groan, but dismissed everyone. He knew how sensitive his wife was to things like this, but sometimes, he just wished she would lighten up. Out of all the things she could have done, she didn't have to go after Elphaba the way she did. He knew it was her job, but sometimes, he wished that she would just think a bit more before letting her anger cloud her better judgment.

* * *

Fiyero looked out the window as the scenery whizzed past them. He looked over at Elphaba, whose nose was buried deep in a book. "So…"

Elphaba didn't look up from her book.

"Hey," Fiyero said gently, nudging her with his foot.

Elphaba grunted.

"Elphaba."

Finally, the green girl looked up. "Yes?"

"What do you plan on doing now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what do you plan on doing if you find your family?"

Elphaba blinked. "I… don't know. I haven't… thought that far yet."

"Have you at least thought about how you are going to find them?"

"Well… my last name is Thropp. Maybe we could just ask around. Someone has to remember a little green girl."

Fiyero regarded her. Their eyes met briefly before Elphaba turned to gaze out the window. "So… Elphaba, I was wondering if –"

"Dixxi House! Next stop is Dixxi House!" the conductor called as he walked down the aisle.

"We should get ready," Elphaba said as she marked her page and placed her book back in her bag.

Fiyero watched her and then slung his bag over his shoulder. The train slowed to a stop and as soon as the doors opened, Elphaba had hopped off. The hero followed her and they could see the river around a mile away.

"There's the river," Elphaba said, pointing to the water. "Let's go."

Fiyero followed her and they found a boat about to leave the dock. "Halt! Where do you think you're going?" a really buff man said, stopping them right before they got on. "It cost fifty green pennies per person to get on. No money, no ride."

Elphaba sighed. "Hermes couldn't have given us travel money?"

Fiyero tug into his coin bag and handed the man one hundred green pennies.

"Enjoy the ride," he said sweetly after counting and pocketing the money.

"Thanks," Elphaba said as she stepped on board.

"Don't mention it," Fiyero smiled.

Elphaba blushed, and quickly hid her face, but Fiyero had noticed. He was all too familiar with what he was feeling, but something was different. With Elphaba, it seemed… stronger. More forceful. It was so powerful that it frightened him. He really liked Elphaba, but knew she didn't like him back. At least, not the way he wanted her to. She did, after all, had all the strength needed to kill him.

"Fiyero?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you looking at?"

Fiyero blinked and realized that he was staring at Elphaba. Had he been staring at her this whole time? Oh Oz, he hoped he didn't look like a creep. "Nothing. I was just… thinking."

Elphaba narrowed her eyes, but then a smirk appeared on her face as she stepped closer to him. Fiyero's breath caught in his throat and for a moment, he forgot how to breathe. "Really? What were you thinking about?"

"Emeralds," Fiyero said in a daze.

Elphaba frowned and stepped away, and Fiyero immediately realized what he said. "Emeralds? Are you…" Elphaba's eyes widened. "You're falling in love with me, aren't you?"

 _Am I that obvious?_ Fiyero thought. "I…"

"I can't believe it! You're such a _man_!"

Fiyero gaped at her. What had warranted this behavior? He hadn't done something brainless, had he? He couldn't remember doing anything stupid. "I can't help the way I feel, Elphaba."

"You can't fall in love with me! I only brought you along because you wouldn't shut up when I wouldn't let you. You only wanted to come with me so you could try to make a move!"

Fiyero frowned. "That's not true!"

"Yes, it is, and you know it!"

"If I wanted to make a move, I would have done it when you were out-cold because of those berries."

As soon as those words left his mouth, he knew that it was the wrong thing to say. Elphaba's glare hardened and she looked like she was going to slap him so hard that he would fall overboard, when a giant wave came out of nowhere and soaked both of them to the bone.

"What the…" Elphaba gasped, sputtering water out of her mouth. She and Fiyero looked over the edge and saw a woman emerging from the water, a hard look on her face as she glared at them. "Who is that?"

"Seeing that we're traveling down the Gillikin River, I'm guessing that's Mydia, the spirit of the river," Fiyero said, flicking his wet hair away from his face.

"What is she doing? Why does she look angry? And why is she looking right at me?"

"I can hear you, y'know," Mydia said, sounding very cross.

Elphaba gulped. "What's going on? Why are you doing this?"

"Hera asked me to put an end to your quest. Well, put an end to _you_ , specifically, though," Mydia said as she caused another wave.

Elphaba held her breath and held onto the banister as the wave hit her. Hera? Why was Hera trying to kill her? Had Artemis asked her to? The boat rocked back and forth, threatening to capsize. The crew and the other passengers were frantic, all running all over the desk.

"Why is Hera after me?" Elphaba asked after she spit the water out of her mouth.

"I don't know. Something about 'proper punishment'," the river spirit said, causing the biggest wave of all to come speeding towards the boat.

Elphaba gasped, but quickly shut her mouth, held her breath, and held on. The wave hit her and she was knocked off her feet. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she was still on boat, but someone else wasn't. "Fiyero!" she exclaimed, running towards the opposite edge and found the hero-in-training being swept down the current of the river. Without thinking twice, she jumped in and swam after him.

* * *

 **To those who guessed Hermes (which was everyone!) You were right! Virtual chocolate cake for everyone! Hopefully my next god/goddess guessing game will be harder.**


	8. One Step Closer

**Yes, Hera is very vengeful and we will find out everything behind this in a while. Just… not quite yet.**

* * *

Fiyero tried to swim against the current, but it was no use. It was too strong and he could feel his body getting weaker. He looked up to see something swimming towards him. He caught a hint of green and knew that he was Elphaba. Had she jumped off the boat to try and save him? This definitely wasn't in the hero-in-training handbook.

"Elpha-" Fiyero called, but was pulled under the water before he could finish calling her name. He immediately held his breath and looked down, seeing some water spirits clinging to his legs as they dragged him towards the bottom. He kicked and struggled against them, but they were too strong.

He looked up and saw Elphaba swimming down towards him, a determined look on her face. He reached out to her and she grabbed his hands and began pulling against the water spirits.

The spirits looked up at the green girl and frowned. They made a noise, a calling of some sort, and more spirits appeared and grabbed Elphaba, holding her legs and pulling her hands behind her back. Elphaba grunted and struggled against them, but they held a tight grip on her. She looked down to see Fiyero slipping into unconsciousness. She knew that if she didn't act fast, he would drown. She wouldn't be able to be killed like this, and if Mydia had done her research, she would have known that. Or… if _Hera_ had done her research. But she wouldn't allow them to kill Fiyero. Gathering all her strength, she kicked the water spirits away. She swam down to Fiyero and kicked the spirits holding him away. They all made a noise and swam away. Grabbing the unconscious hero around the waist, she swam up back to the surface. She swam over to the shore and pulled herself up, pulling Fiyero up with her. She coughed the water out of her lungs before turning back to Fiyero.

"Fiyero?" she whispered hoarsely, laying him down on his back. "Fiyero, please wake up."

The Vinkun didn't move and Elphaba became worried. Quickly looking around, she bent down and did mouth-to-mouth, blowing air into his lungs and doing chest compressions. After what seemed like forever, Fiyero moved and Elphaba helped him onto his side. He began coughing the water out of his lungs and gasped for air.

"Thank Oz," Elphaba whispered when Fiyero stopped.

"El-Elpha… Elphaba?" Fiyero gasped, still coughing.

"Don't talk. Just relax. You almost died."

"What happened?"

"Mydia tried to kill us, but she forgot one thing."

"Wh-What?"

"It takes more than water to kill me. I'm immortal… well, immortal up to a point."

Fiyero just gaped at her and Elphaba decided to explain more once he was less waterlogged.

"Well… we lost the boat. We have to find another way to get to the Vinkus."

"Well," Fiyero said, taking a deep breath and regaining himself. "We could… um… take a caravan."

Elphaba regarded him.

"It's slower than a boat, and we didn't really get that far. We're still in the Gillikin and a caravan would be our best option."

"Where are we going to find a caravan? And it would take us days to reach the Vinkus anyway.

"We could always walk."

Elphaba gave him a look. "Walk?"

"Unless you want to wait for that boat to come back."

Elphaba sighed. "Looks like we're walking, then."

Fiyero smiled. "And… I suppose I owe you a 'thank you'."

"For what?" Elphaba blinked.

"For saving my life. You did save my life, didn't you?"

"Oh. I suppose I did," Elphaba said, biting back a blush. "It was the honorable thing to do."

"You only did it because it was honorable?" Fiyero asked.

"Of course. Why else would I do it? I don't want to have a death I could have prevented on my shoulders for the rest of my immortal life."

"Yes, I suppose that wouldn't be the most ideal situation."

"Of course."

"Thank you. I guess we're one step closer to being even now, aren't we? You'll just have to save my life one more time and we'll be good."

Elphaba blushed. "Hopefully, I won't have to. If you're feeling better, we should probably get moving before the sun goes down."

"Yeah. Sure."

The two packed up their things and moved on towards the main road, thinking that if they followed it, they would be able to find a village, and therefore, hopefully someone to give them a ride. They managed to come across a village and bought a horse for seventy-five green pennies (which Fiyero paid for, despite Elphaba's protests).

"You didn't have enough money for the boat," Fiyero said after paying for the horse. "Plus, this will get us to the Vinkus faster."

Elphaba frowned at him, but a few clock-ticks later, found herself on the back of the house, sitting behind Fiyero.

"Ready?" the Vinkun asked.

Elphaba made a noise and nodded. Fiyero gently kicked the horse's sides and they were off. The green girl frowned in discomfort as she sat behind Fiyero. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but she knew she would live.

"Fiyero?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you thought about what's gonna happen when you return to the Vinkus?"

Fiyero blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you tell me that you were banished?"

"I am, but I doubt anyone there still remembers me. Plus, I was younger then. I've grown up and, as a plus, the people who might remember me also think I'm dead."

"Have you thought about your family since then?"

"Of course I have. Not a day goes by when I don't think about my mother. I sometimes think about my step-father, but that always ends with the day he killed my mother and tried to kill me."

Elphaba noticed that the ex-prince was getting closed off and decided to drop the subject. They would be fine in the Vinkus. She would find what she's looking for and go from there.

Finally, the reached the boarder. Elphaba pulled her cloak hood over her head, hiding her emerald skin from sight. A guard stopped them and asked for their travel papers.

"T-Travel papers?" Fiyero gulped. He never heard of travel papers to get into the Vinkus before.

"All persons wishing to enter the Vinkus must have travel paper identification," the stone-faced guard said. "This has been King Raal's rule for years."

"Really wish Hermes had mentioned this," Elphaba muttered.

"Please, sir. We really need to get into the Vinkus immediately. My… wife… is terribly ill," Fiyero said, thinking quickly

Elphaba glared at him. Wife? Who said anything about a wife? Since when was she his wife? She never agreed to that.

"We were told that the only doctor who can cure her lives in the Vinkus. If we don't get her help soon, she'll die."

Elphaba got the message, made a noise in the back of her throat, and rested her head against the back of Fiyero's neck, pretending to be sick. Fiyero wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered words of comfort to her, playing the part of a worried husband and giving the guard a pleading look.

"Well…" the guard said. "I suppose I could let this one slide, just because your wife is dying. But don't go telling anyone I did this, or we'll all be in serious trouble."

Fiyero smiled. "Thank you so much, sir," he said as he urged the horse forward.

" _Wife?_ " Elphaba hissed in his ear once they were out of earshot.

"Hey, you wanted to get in, didn't you?"

"You couldn't have just said that I was a friend?"

"'Wife' sounds more convincing. And it was just a lie, Elphaba. A lie to get us in."

"Fine," Elphaba huffed, but was secretly feeling disappointed, and she didn't know why. "It got us in. Now what?"

"We start asking around if anyone knows anyone with the last name of… what's your last name, again?"

"Thropp."

"Thropp. Then we find them and poof, you have your family."

"I don't think it will be that simple."

"Must you be such a pessimist? I'm doing this for you."

"Sorry," Elphaba muttered.

As it turned out, Fiyero did most of the asking, since Elphaba didn't want to set them off with her green skin. At the end of the day, they rented a room at an inn, still no answers. Elphaba collapsed on the bed, exhausted and upset.

"Hey, don't give up. This is just one village," Fiyero said as he took off his boots.

"What do you propose we do? Search the entire Vinkus? That would take us forever."

"I don't know about forever. Maybe a few months, if we're lucky."

"We don't have that much time. The gods are already after us. Who knows how long it will be before another one finds us… specifically me."

"You can't think like that, Elphaba. We'll find what you're looking for."

Elphaba looked up at him. "Must you be such an optimist?"

"It's one of my many wonderful qualities."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "We should try to get some rest. We can keep searching tomorrow."

Fiyero nodded and climbed onto the bed next to Elphaba's. "Goodnight, Elphaba."

"Goodnight, Fiyero. Fresh dreams."

"You, too."

* * *

"Sera, you had _one_ job!" Carisse sighed.

"I'm sorry!" Seraphia said as they watched their map float down the river. "The wind blew it out of my hands."

"We'll have to find Elphaba some other way," Maia said, hoping to avoid a fight.

"Which way were we headed?" Carisse asked, breaking off her glare-down with Seraphia.

"South. I was thinking we would check the Quadling Country first," Seraphia said.

"Why the Quadling Country?"

"We gotta start somewhere, right?"

"But why there?"

"Because everyone knows that Quadlings know everything."

"Who knew," Maia muttered.

"Hey, we have to start somewhere right?" Seraphia asked again, raising an eyebrow.

"You're right. Lead on," Carisse said, exchanging a look with Maia that Seraphia didn't see.

"All we have to do is follow the river. Rivers lead south," Seraphia said.

"But will it lead to the Quadling Country?" Maia asked.

Seraphia shrugged. "There's only one way to find out."

* * *

"Your Majesty?"

"Yes, Harv?"

"There is a woman here to see you. She says that it's something you would want to hear."

The king looked up from his paper work. He exchanged a look with his wife, Queen Phile, and nodded to his attendant. "Send her in."

Harv nodded and motioned for the guards to let the woman in. The two guards stationed at the door nodded and opened the door. A middle aged woman with long, greying brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and a few slight wrinkles on her face walked in. Her eyes sparkled, full of life and wisdom. She came before the monarchs and bowed.

"What is your name?" the king asked.

"My name is of little importance, Your Majesty. I bring news that I believe would particularly interest you," the woman said meekly, bowing her head slightly.

The king narrowed his eyes. "And what news would this be?"

"Fiyero is alive."

The monarch stiffened and his face hardened. The queen looked at her husband, unsure of what was going on.

"Who's Fiyero?" she asked gently.

"How can you be sure?" the king said, ignoring his wife.

"I remember him. I remember his face. And he has returned. He seeks to dethrone you and claim the Vinkus as his own," the woman said.

"Where is he now?"

"He is staying at an inn with a girl with green skin. He has teamed up with her to revolt against you."

The king nodded. "Harv!" he called.

"Your Majesty?" Harv bowed as he appeared next to the woman.

"First thing tomorrow, send out the soldiers. I want to make sure Fiyero is dead and stays dead this time. I want his head brought back to me on a plate. I will do whatever it takes to protect my family."

"Yes, sir," Harv bowed and disappeared again.

"Woman, you have done the Vinkus a great service. How may I reward you?"

"No reward is necessary, Your Majesty. I just wished to bring news I believed you would want to hear," the woman bowed.

"Well, thank you. May the gods bless you with long life."

"Thank you," she said, bowing once more before turning and leaving.


	9. Coming for You

**Doglover645: Again? That was the first time Sera dropped the map.**

 **LifelongLeahstar: Harv barely did anything. And Hera/Harv… um… I don't think so. Just… no. That wouldn't work for MANY reasons that I don't have time to list in an AN.**

 **Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: *Pats shoulder* My dear Maddy, in Greek Mythology, NO ONE gets a break (You'll see what I mean after you read this chapter).**

 **PocketSevens: I'll bet all the money in the world, because only I know the answer to that question! *Smirk***

 **love2read20: No, she can't just think, "Where is Elphaba" and she'll immediately know. She can, however, use her powers to make finding Elphaba much faster.**

* * *

"Are we lost?" Carisse asked after a while. "We've been following the river for miles, and we've been in this forest for even longer than that."

"We're not lost," Seraphia sighed. "I just… don't know where we are."

"We're lost," Maia muttered.

"We don't even know where we're going. I think that also qualifies as lost," Carisse said.

"We're going to the Quadling Country," Seraphia said once again.

"But why? And don't tell us it's because Quadlings know everything. They're not going to know where Elphaba is," Maia sighed.

"No, but there's someone there who definitely does."

"Who?"

"Gaia."

"Gaia? You mean… Gaia the _titan_? _That_ Gaia?"

"Yup!"

"Gaia's in the Quadling country?"

"Well, her temple is. If we go there, we could ask her where Elphaba is."

"Titans have temples?" Carisse questioned, raising her eyebrow.

"Well, not all of them, obviously, but she does. She's the mother of the earth. Of course she gonna have a temple."

"Are you sure about this? I mean… the titans can be a little… scary," Maia said.

"They're not any scarier than the Olympians."

"Where do you think they get it from?"

"It's our only chance at finding Elphaba."

"How do we know it's safe?" Carisse asked.

"We don't. We just have to try it. You just have to trust me."

"The last time I trusted you, I ended up tangled in vines in the middle of the Gillikin Forest," Maia said, fisting her hands against her hips.

"Well, I promise that you won't get tangled in any vines… hopefully," Seraphia said.

"Thanks."

"Let's just get going. The sooner we find Gaia's temple, the sooner we find Elphaba and the less likely chance that Maia will become tangled in some vines," Carisse said, taking the lead and not waiting for the other two girls to follow her.

* * *

Fiyero woke up before Elphaba the next morning. Yawning, he stretched out and rubbed his eyes, looking over on Elphaba's side of the bed. A strange feeling suddenly overcame him, but he pushed it aside. It went away for a brief moment, then came back, almost as if trying to warn him. When he finally couldn't take it anymore, he shook the green girl awake. "Elphaba! Elphaba, wake up!"

"Wha…" Elphaba said as she groggily opened her eyes. "Fiyero, what are you doing?"

"We have to leave now."

"Leave? Why?"

"I… don't know. I just have a very bad feeling about this. Just… trust me."

Elphaba blinked, but got up and packed up their belongings. "What's wrong?" she asked through a yawn.

"I just have this very bad feeling." He heard voices in the hallway and his eyes widened. "We have to leave. Right now."

"Why? Fiyero, is this about those voices? What is this about?"

Footsteps approached and soon, there was someone knocking at the door. Fiyero pushed Elphaba towards the far window. He ignored the fact that they were still in their nightwear as he threw their belongings out the window.

"Fiyero…"

"Open up! In the name of His Royal Majesty, King Raal!"

"Someone must have recognized me and tipped off that I'm here. My stepfather's soldiers are after me. We have to get out of here."

"We're still in our nightwear."

"We'll be on a slow path to Hades if we don't get out," Fiyero hissed, grabbing Elphaba's arm and pulling her out the window with him.

They fell and landed in the bushes just as the door opened. Fiyero quickly grabbed onto Elphaba's hand and pulled her behind him, heading towards the woods. "Run and don't look back."

Elphaba nodded and clung to the demigod's hand. She heard shouts behind her and soon heard a loud sound she had never heard before. "Fiyero, what are they doing?"

"I'll explain when we get to safety."

"Fiyero…"

"Hold on."

The two ran through the woods, jumping over logs and ducking under tree branches. The footsteps grew faster and louder and then the loud banging noise sounded again. A clock-tick later, Fiyero screamed out in pain, but didn't stop running. His free hand flew to his side as he continued to take deep breaths. Elphaba, who had absolutely no idea what was going on, felt completely helpless as she continued to hold onto Fiyero.

"Fiyero…"

"One… s-second…" Fiyero said, summoning his courage, strength, and powers. He exhaled slowly and as they ran, thick grape vines grew behind them, safely separating them from the soldiers. "Stop."

Elphaba stopped and Fiyero collapsed to the ground, clutching his side. "You're hurt. What were those things?"

"You've never seen guns before?" Fiyero asked, gasping for air.

Elphaba shook her head. "No. The Huntresses only use bows and arrows, and swords and knives."

"Wow. You girls are really old-fashioned," Fiyero chuckled, then grimaced.

"Here, let me see," Elphaba said, helping Fiyero lean against a nearby tree. He grimaced in pain, but she ignored him as she began to undo his nightshirt.

"This really isn't how I would have pictured this moment," Fiyero said as Elphaba helped him take it off.

Elphaba rolled her eyes and hissed at him to shut up as she examined his wound. It wasn't deep, but it was still bleeding. She knew she had to get it cleaned and covered before it got infected. Looking around, she noticed a large yellow flower nearby. She quickly plucked it and dug through their bags, pulling out their canteen of water and a small bowl.

"What are you doing?" Fiyero asked, watching as Elphaba poured the water into the bowl crushed the flower.

"Making something to help you," the green girl answered as she sprinkled the crushed flower into the water and using her pointer finger to stir it. Once the liquid turned a bright yellow, Elphaba pulled out a cloth from her bag and used it to clean Fiyero's wounds. The prince bit his lip to prevent screaming out, but it was burning like fire.

"Stay still," Elphaba said gently, wiping the blood away. "I know it hurts, but this will stop the bleeding."

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Fiyero, Elphaba finished and ripped up the bottom of her nightdress. She used it as a bandage and wrapped it around Fiyero's side, covering the wound.

"Hopefully, that will hold until we can to another village. It was just a graze, but it will have to be cleaned and rebandaged in a few hours."

"What about finding your family?" Fiyero asked as Elphaba helped him to his feet. "You still need to find them."

"We're still going to do that, but you need help."

Fiyero sighed. "Can we at least get dressed? We can't just walk around in our nightwear."

Elphaba looked down sheepishly. "You're right."

The two took turns dressing quickly behind a tree, silently making a mental note to wash as soon as they reached a safer location. Once they were ready, they made sure they had everything in their bags before starting to journey out of the woods.

"Well, the Vinkus is out. Where should we head next?" Fiyero asked as they walked.

"I don't really know."

"Have you tried looking in the Gillikin?"

"Even though I come from the Gillikin, or at least… according to what I remember, I don't have a Gillikinese accent like the other girls from there. So I guess not."

"What kind of accent do you have, then?"

Elphaba gave him a look. "How would I know?"

The hero-in-training simply gave her a sheepish look and averted his gaze. "So… now what?"

"Let's try Munchkinland."

Fiyero blinked. "That's on the other side of Oz."

"We can take the shortcut through the Emerald City."

"How are we going to get there? Are we going to beseech Hermes again?"

"Again? We didn't beseech him the first time. _He_ found _us_."

"Right. But we still have the problem of getting there."

Elphaba smirked and whistled. All was quiet for a moment, then Fiyero heard the sound of hooves against the dirt and looked up to see their horse.

"Do I _want_ to know?" he asked as Elphaba attached their bags to the side of the saddle.

The green girl smirked. "That depends."

"You know what? I'm good for now," Fiyero said as he climbed on after he, wincing slightly because of his side.

"How on!" Elphaba said, urging the horse forward as Fiyero wrapped his arms around her waist.

"So… to the Emerald City?"

Elphaba nodded. "To the Emerald City."

* * *

"I… hate… _everything_!" Maia moaned as she dragged her feet through the mud. "Are we there _yet_?"

"You asked the same question two minutes ago and the answer is still the same… no," Carisse said.

"I… hate… _everything_! Especially you, Sera!"

"Me?" the daughter of Athena growled. "What did I do?"

"Well, you lost the map," Carisse pointed out.

"This was your idea," Maia said.

"And you lost the map."

"You got us into this mess and got us lost."

"And that's because you lost the map."

"I get it! I get it! I shouldn't have lost the map," Seraphia huffed. "Actually, I didn't even lose it! The wind…"

"Blew it out of your hands. We know. We were there," Maia said.

Seraphia glared at her, but didn't say anything as they trudged forward.

"We're almost there!" Carisse said in triumph.

"How can you tell?" Maia asked.

Carisse smiled and pointed to a sign that read 'Quadling Country: 5 miles'. "It's not so far. We just have to get out of this forest."

The group was interrupted by a low growl behind them. Whipping around, they saw a pair of glowing eyes staring directly at them from behind the trees.

"What…" Seraphia gulped.

The source of the growl emerged from the shadows and the girls gasped.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," Maia hissed through clenched teeth.

"Minotaurs!" Carisse sighed. "Why is it always minotaurs? Does the person or Olympian or _whoever_ sending monsters have nothing else but minotaurs?"

"How are we gonna get past that thing?" Maia asked, already drawing her sword.

"I'll handle this," Seraphia said, drawing her bow and arrow.

"Sera, it might be better if we do this together," Carisse said, eyeing the other girl warily.

"I got us into this, I can fight off the minotaur."

"We would never ask you to fight a monster by yourself just because you lost the map and got us lost," Maia said.

"Was that supposed to sound reassuring?"

"Did it work?"

"Not really."

"Then no."

Seraphia rolled her eyes and stepped closer to the monster. It growled at her and looked like it was about to charge.

"Are we just gonna let her do that by herself?" Carisse asked, looking at Maia.

"Not a chance," the older girl said, sharing a smirk with Carisse. Redrawing her sword, she stepped beside the redhead.

Seraphia smiled at her friends as the monster charged at them. Them managed to duck out of the way and resumed their fighting stances.

"This one's really good," Carisse said, noticing how the monster was seemingly able to be fighting all three of them at once.

"Too good. It's not here on its own. One of the Olympians must have sent it out," Seraphia said.

"But who?" Maia asked as she shouted every possible obscenity she could think of. "And... why?"

The monster growled and managed to knock Carisse aside, sending the huntress flying into a tree.

"Carisse!" Seraphia and Maia shouted, watching as their friend slumped to the ground, unmoving and her hair covered in blood.

Seraphia rolled up her imaginary sleeves as she set her gaze on the minotaur. "No one sends my friend flying into trees!" she shouted at the monster before charging full speed.

The minotaur glared at her and roared before grabbing her in its fist.

"Sera!" Maia shouted, watching as her friend struggle against the minotaur's tight grip.

"I… got… this," Seraphia said, struggling to breathe and fight the monster at the same time.

"I can see that! You know, for a daughter of the goddess of wisdom, that was a really stupid thing to do!" Maia shouted up at her, through her joke was lost in the chaos. She looked between Carisse, lying on the ground, and Seraphia, stuck in the clutches of the minotaur, and wondered who she should help first.

"Maia, go to… Carisse!" Seraphia grunted, weakly pounding the minotaur with her fist.

"I'm not leaving you!" Maia said, looking like she was near tears.

Seraphia looked down at her, also looking like she was near tears. The minotaur squeezed her even tighter and she screamed out in pain. Maia's eyes widened in horror as the minotaur closed its fist around her best friend, watching helplessly as she turned into golden dust and disappeared from sight.

 _Can I say that final curse word now?_ Maia thought to herself, staring wide-eyed at the Minotaur.

The minotaur looked down at the only remaining huntress, roared, then ran away. Maia was rooted to the spot, wondering if she really just saw that. Maybe it was just a dream. Maybe she was going to wake up from this nightmare and be back at the camp with her friends. But deep down, she knew this wasn't a dream. Seraphia was gone. And Carisse…

The poor girl was still on the ground, blood tangling in her brown hair. "Carisse!" Maia shouted, hurrying to her friend and kneeling beside her. She turned her over and almost fainted at how much blood was in her hair. It wasn't the bright red blood that shows when you get a paper cut. It was the dark red that signaled that she was losing blood and losing it fast. "Okay, Carisse. Let's do this." Maia placed a hand on the back of Carisse's head where the blood was coming from. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on making her powers work. She muttered a quick prayer to her father and felt her powers coursing through her veins.

"M… Ma… Maia?"

The older girl looked down and saw Carisse slowly opening her eyes. She slowly removed her had and saw that she had stopped bleeding and there wasn't a speck of blood in her hair. "Thank Oz," she whispered, hugging the younger girl closer.

"Wha… What happened? Where's Sera?"

Maia bit her lip and turned away from Carisse.

"Maia, what happened to her? Where is she?"

"The one place we can't follow her to."

"You mean…" Carisse's eyes widened. "No."

"Sadly, yes."

"What are we going to do now?"

"We have to find Elphaba."

"But what about Sera?"

"We'll figure something out later. We can't do anything for her right now."

"Well… that went well," Carisse sighed as Maia helped her to her feet. "What do we do now?"

"We continue to the Quadling Country, find Gaia's temple, then find Elphaba."


	10. Wanna Be Where You Are

**LifelongLeahstar: I actually completely forgot about that story, but thanks for reminding me!**

 **ElphieNeedsAHug: Not everyone will die. But it won't be as fun if everyone makes it out of this story alive and okay. Something has to happen.**

 **I actually made a really big reference in the last chapter that no one got. Okay… three people got it, and those three people know who they are, so they're not going to spoil it for everyone else. It's actually a really big clue about what's going on. Let's see who can guess the reference.**

* * *

Soon, but not soon enough for Maia, the two girls reached the Quadling country. They were exhausted, hungry, and in need of a bath.

"We're here!" Maia exclaimed.

"Finally! Now let's find Gaia's temple."

"Wait!" Maia stopped her friend. "Won't we need an offering for her?"

"One step ahead of you," Carisse smiled, pulling three golden apples out of her bag.

"Are those…" Maia whispered in awe.

"Yup. The Golden Apples."

"From the tree at the edge of the earth?"

"That's the one."

"How did you get those?"

"I've had them for a while, but I've been saving them for a rainy day."

Maia simply stared at the younger girl before taking the lead and trying to find the temple. "Excuse me, but do you know where we can find Gaia's Temple?" she asked a passerby.

"Down this lane, past the large tree. You can't miss it," the man said.

"Thank you," the two girls waved and followed the directions. They soon found the temple and tried to push the door open, but it was locked.

"Uh… is this supposed to be locked…?" Carisse asked.

"I don't think so. Maybe there's another way in," Maia said as she began to look around the temple. "I wonder why it's locked… Carisse, you go around the other way." The huntress turned around, but found that she was all alone. "Carisse?" The last thing she remembered before blacking out was the feeling of pain in the back of her head and a soft, female grunt from behind her.

Hours later, when she came to, she found herself in a dark room. She tried to move, but her hands and feet were tied. "Carisse?"

"Maia?" a soft voice answered back.

The older girl breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you alright?"

"I… think so. What happened?"

"We were at Gaia's temple. The door was locked and we were trying to find a way in."

"Trying to find a way to _break in_ , you mean," a new voice said.

The two girls stiffened as a faint light appeared and a person walked out from the shadows. As they stepped forward, the room became brighter and Maia and Carisse were able to see who they were dealing with.

The person standing in front of them was a young girl, probably around seventeen years old, with creamy light brown skin and long, thick black hair that was in a braid over her shoulder. She wore a shimmering golden dress and had a faint aura around her, letting Maia and Carisse know that she was a goddess. Her brown eyes glared back at the huntresses as she circled around them, looking as though she was seconds away from pouncing on her prey and eating it alive. "Who are you two?" she finally spoke, her voice not as intimidating as her look.

"Ah… I'm… C-Carisse," Carisse said, though it sounded more like a question due to her fear of never seeing the sun again.

"Maia," the older girl said, sounding much stronger than she felt.

The young goddess turned to Maia and slowly approached her. "A daughter of Apollo?"

"If I say yes, will you refrain from killing us?"

The goddess rolled her eyes. "And you are both Huntresses of Artemis?"

The goddess seemed to already know the answers to her own questions, but Maia and Carisse simply nodded.

"State your business here."

"Uh… we were trying to see if we could beseech Gaia and ask if she could help us with something," Carisse said.

"Gaia? You were in search of Gaia?" the young goddess asked.

"Ah… yes," Carisse said meekly.

"Gaia's temple is on the south side of the Quadling Country, many miles from here."

Maia gave Carisse an _'I'm_ not _walking all the way there'_ look and turned back to the goddess. "If you don't mind my asking, who are you?"

"I am Nicia, goddess of desire," the goddess said.

"I thought that was Himeros," Carisse said, tilting her head slightly to the side.

Nicia's eyes burned. "Not _sexual_ desires, _mortal_!" she hissed. "I am the goddess of the deepest desires of the heart."

Carisse looked down and muttered an apology.

"And… where are we and what are we doing down here?" Maia asked.

"I do not take too kindly to intruders trying to break into my temple unannounced."

"We weren't trying to break into your temple. We didn't even know this was your temple," Maia said.

"The door was locked."

"Because I did not have any scheduled appointments. Today is my day off."

"So, you won't help us?" Carisse asked meekly.

Nicia paused. "That depends. Did you bring anything?"

"There are golden apples in my bag."

Nicia waved her hand and Carisse and Maia's bindings were undone. After giving her wrist and ankles a brief run, Carisse hurried to the corner, were her bags were dumped after they were kidnapped and brought here, and gave the three apples.

"You really _were_ looking for Gaia," Nicia said, but she took the apples anyway. "What do you desire?"

"We want to know where our friend, Elphaba, is," Maia said.

Nicia took a bite of the apple. "The green girl?"

"You know her?" Carisse asked.

The goddess shook her head. "Not personally, but I've heard stories about her. Plus, my sister, Hali, is the patron goddess of Munchkinland."

"We know that she's from Munchkinland, and about her past. But we need to find her first," Maia said.

"Do you know if she's gotten there yet?"

"No. She is traveling to the Emerald City currently, but it's only a matter of time before she finds out and goes to Munchkinland. I know what Elphaba desires, and her desire to find out where she comes from is strong. It is one of the strongest desires I've felt in a while."

"But she can't find out. We have to stop her. What's the quickest way to the Emerald City?"

"And does it require a lot of walking?" Maia said. "Because I think I've had enough walking to last me a lifetime… literally."

Nicia smiled softly. "I can get you there in the blink of an eye."

Maia looked beyond relieved. "Really?"

The goddess nodded and finished off the apple. "You just have to make it your heart's biggest desire."

"That sounds easier said than done," Carisse said.

"It is," Nicia nodded. "It's one thing to want something very badly, but to fully and completely desire it with all your heart takes a lot of effort. But it's the only way I can send you there."

The two girls exchanged a look and held hands. Closing their eyes, they focused all of their energy on desiring to go to the Emerald City will all their hearts. Their desire to help their friend stay out of harm's way helped them and pretty soon, they felt themselves slipping away. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves in the center of the Emerald City, right in front of the Emerald City Palace.

"Wow," Maia whispered in awe. "We're in the Emerald City!"

"I've always wanted to see the Emerald City!" Carisse smiled.

"There are buildings as tall as Quoxwood trees!"

"Dress salons!"

"Libraries!"

"I can't believe we're actually in the greatest city in Oz!"

The girls looked all around them, taking in all the green and splendor. Everything looked so fancy and Ozmopolitan.

"We… we should try to stay focused," Carisse began to say, but Maia was already starting to window shop. "Maia!"

"Huh?" the older girl said, half distracted as she looked at a very pretty deep purple dress.

"We should at least get cleaned up first. I have enough money for us to rent a hotel room for two nights."

"Then we can come back and –"

"Look for Elphaba."

Maia pouted slightly, but followed the younger girl to the Grandiose Oz Hotel. The person at the front desk gave them a look as they entered the hotel, clearly judging them by their appearance. He softened up slightly when Carisse paid for the room for two nights and they girls went to freshen up.

The two soon emerged, Maia in a pale yellow dress and Carisse in a light red dress, both wearing their hair in braided ponytails. "Now, to find Elphaba," Carisse said, but Maia was off again. "Maia!"

"What? She's probably not even here yet. We should enjoy the city while we still have the chance," Maia said, already halfway to the shop window.

"Fine. But as soon as we see her, we're getting back on track," Carisse said after a while, then joined her friend in looking at the wonderful window displays.

* * *

"Wow," Fiyero whispered as they entered the city. "So this is the Emerald City."

Elphaba gently tugged on the reins, causing the horse to stop. She dismounted and Fiyero got off after her, following her as she led the horse to the horse fence, tying it to the post. "Maybe we can search here instead of going straight to Munchkinland."

"You just want to sight-see."

"I want to help you, Elphaba."

Elphaba turned and regarded him. "You really think we should search here?"

"We can ask the oracle of Ozma. She'll be able to tell you where your family is. And who knows, maybe they are in Munchkinland."

Elphaba didn't move for a moment, and Fiyero wondered what she was thinking. "Alright," she finally said. "Let's ask the oracle."

They found out that the oracle was right next to the fates of the Emerald City palace. Elphaba seemed at odds with herself, and Fiyero reached down and squeezed her hand. Elphaba looked at their joint hands then glared up at him, but Fiyero simply gave her an encouraging smile. They went inside and, after paying the twenty green penny fee, were directed by a young woman to go through the doorway to see the oracle.

Inside, they found a young girl, no older than eighteen, sitting cross-legged on a pillow on a throne. A dark purple scarf was draped over her shoulder-length light brown hair. Her hands were resting on her knees and her eyes were closed. She looked like she was in a meditative state and didn't want to be bothered. Elphaba turned and looked like she was going to leave, but Fiyero stopped her.

"Go on, Elphaba," Fiyero whispered, turning her around and pushing her towards the oracle. "Ask her your question."

Elphaba blinked, still unsure, but cleared her throat. "Oh great oracle of Ozma, I –"

"I have a name, you know," the oracle suddenly spoke, startling both Elphaba and Fiyero. The young girl opened her eyes and stared at them. "It's Ona."

Elphaba opened and closed her mouth several times, but no sound came out.

"I also have a second name of Thalassa, not that anyone would care about that." She gave a dry laugh, at odds with her name. "It means 'of the sea'." She laughed bitterly and spread out her arms. "And where do you see the sea here, hmm? Again, not that anyone would care. People only come to me when they want to find out something. They never come just to chat."

Elphaba just stood there, dumbfounded. "I…"

"You thought that I only spoke in riddles, didn't you? People seem to forget that I'm a real person with real feelings. I didn't exactly ask for this stupid curse of prophesy in the first place. I came from a family of fishermen, my parents were always on the water and wanted better than what they had, but there is no kindness in the desert, nor the sea. My parents were fools and dreamers. Just like everyone who comes to see me."

"Ah… I'm sorry," Elphaba said, not fully understanding everything the oracle had just said. "My f-friend and I…"

"Oh, there's two of you," Ona said, clearly not impressed as she noticed Fiyero. "Well, my name means 'gracious', but I am not. My time is sparse, so pick one thing to ask and move on."

"So, you'll help us?" Fiyero asked.

"I _hope_ that wasn't the question you came to ask me," Ona said, narrowing her eyes at the Vinkun. "You seem like you traveled too far to ask such a dumb question."

Fiyero glared at her, then stepped back.

"But yes, I shall answer your question, but answer me this. If I tell you of your fate, what will you do? Why should I tell you if all you're going to do is declare that it's not to be, and it's your duty to change it?" Ona asked.

"I'm not here to ask about my fate," Elphaba said, finding her voice. "I came to ask about… something else."

Ona relaxed. "I'm waiting."

"Where is my family?" Elphaba asked.

Ona regarded her before closing her eyes. Her body tensed and she began to shake uncontrollably. Her hands rose to her head and she moaned softly. As suddenly as it started, it stopped and Ona's hands slowly came away from her head and spread out in front of her, her palms open and facing up. "Over the sands and the forest of the land, landside, and homebound to send. To fly home this castaway, guarded by night, green as the sea and ready to fight. You'll find them underfoot, overfoot, and low. In the land of the short, they're unluckily so, if back to your family you're willing to go," she spoke in a monotone voice. She relaxed and slumped forward, and Elphaba managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

"Ona?" Elphaba asked, gently brushing the girl's hair away from her face.

The oracle moaned and slowly opened her eyes. She quickly pushed herself up and brushed the non-existent dirt from her dress. "Thanks… I suppose."

"Thank you," Elphaba said. "For helping me."

"You actually understood what I said?" Ona asked, clearly suppressed.

"I got the gist of it," Elphaba smiled.

Ona blinked. "Most people don't understand a word I say. I can never even remember what I said. And… you're welcome. No one's ever thanked me before. They would always run out of here." She looked around. "And honestly, I can't blame them. I should really consider redecorating."

Elphaba smiled and watched as the oracle resumed her proper place on the throne. "Good luck on whatever it is you're doing," Ona said before resuming her initial position and closing her eyes.

Elphaba smiled as she and Fiyero walked out. "That went much better than I expected."

"Are we still going to Munchkinland?" Fiyero asked as they went back to their horse.

"Yes," Elphaba nodded, finding that it was very hard to stop smiling. "That's where my family is. They're in Munchkinland."

* * *

 **So, yes, I couldn't resist two more inserts. I was the goddess Nicia and my best friend, Megan (you all remember Megan, right? From Megan's Corner of Useless Information in HNESNE) debuted as the oracle, Ona. She actually wrote (through texting) most of Ona's lines. Don't forget to review!**


	11. Distractions and Hallucinations

**So sorry this chapter is a day late, everyone!**

 **Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: Personally, I'm not completely sure what Ona meant, either. I just learned over the years that one doesn't question Megan and just use what she gives you and figure it out later.**

 **ElphieNeedsAHug: Don't worry! I'm not gonna kill EVERYONE! At least one person has to live to tell the story.**

* * *

"Wait! Elphaba, we don't have to leave right now," Fiyero said as she got ready to mount the horse.

"What are you talking about? Ona said my family is in Munchkinland. That's where we're going."

"But… I mean… we're in the Emerald City!"

"And? This was only meant to be a shortcut to Munchkinland, remember?"

"I remember, but still… we're in the Emerald City! We can stay and sightsee for a while. Your family isn't going anywhere."

"You don't know that."

"I do." The Vinkun gently took her hands in his. "You've been under a lot of stress and pressure this whole time. You deserve a little break."

Elphaba frowned. "I don't need a break."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't!"

"Just for an hour or two! Please!"

"Fine! If it will get you to shut up, fine!" Elphaba sighed.

Fiyero grinned at her and grabbed her hand. "Let's go have some fun." They stopped at the tourist booth and picked up their green glasses.

"Wow. Everything looks… like me," Elphaba said when she put them on.

Fiyero smiled as he watched Elphaba look around the city. He had never seen her smile like that before. She looked truly free. She looked like she didn't have a care in the world. He liked seeing her like that. If only it happened more often. "Let's go!" he said, taking her hand and leading her through the street.

Maia and Carisse were sitting outside a nearby café. Maia was reading a magazine while Carisse watched the tourists walk past. Since everything and everyone looked green due to the glasses, she completely missed Elphaba and Fiyero as they walked right past them.

"Maia?" the younger girl said.

"Hmm?" Maia hummed, half-distracted.

"Don't you think we should get back to our search for Elphaba?"

"We have time."

"Not as much time as you think."

The two girls looked up and saw a green-hued Galinda standing in front of them.

"Galinda!" Carisse said, taking off her glasses. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just about to ask you girls the exact same question. Aren't you supposed to be finding Elphie?"

"We are. We're just… taking a break," Maia said.

"Elphie's here. In the city. Right now!"

"H-How do you know?"

"My magic mirror showed me."

"You have a magic mirror?"

"Yes, but that's besides the point! The point is that we need to find her and fast! I have a feeling trouble's about to start, and I don't want to be around here when it does."

"What kind of trouble?" Carisse asked.

A sudden strong wind blew and that was the only answer the girls needed. "Let's go," Maia said, folding her magazine and placing it in her bag.

"Hey, where's Sera?" Galinda asked as she followed the girls.

"That's kind of a long story," Maia said softly.

"She was attacked by a minotaur," Carisse said. "Well, we all were, but the minotaur got her."

"Was she…?" Galinda whispered.

Maia nodded grimly.

The blonde gasped as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Let's just focus on finding Elphaba for now," Carisse said, gently touching the blonde's shoulder.

"But how? Everyone here is green. How are we going to recognize Elphaba?" Maia asked.

"I have an idea," Carisse smirked as she reached over and removed Maia's glasses from her face. "Better?"

Maia scowled. "I could have done that."

"But you didn't."

"You know what? You can just…"

Before Galinda knew it, both girls were involved in a full-fledged argument. It lasted all of two minutes before Carisse suddenly stopped, staring at Maia with wide eyes. She relaxed and gave the older girl a goofy smile, successfully freaking her out.

"I love you, Maia!" Carisse smiled as she engulfed the older girl in a big hug.

"What the…" Maia muttered, horrified.

Galinda looked up and frowned. "Cupid, do you _mind_?"

The winged-baby slowly floated down and landed in Galinda's arms, giving her his best 'innocent baby' look.

"That stupid look isn't going to work on my, mister! Can you go five minutes without causing problems?" Galinda growled.

"Goo-goo, ga-ga," baby Cupid gurgled.

"You're so _fake_ ," Galinda sighed. "Go back to Momsie."

"You're not the boss of me!" Cupid pouted.

"Oh, but I am, unless you want Momsie to take away your love arrows for a month… maybe in February."

Cupid seemed to consider this, then disappeared in a sweet-smelling puff of cloud. The blonde let out a sigh of relief.

"Ah, Galinda, how long is this gonna last?" Maia asked, looking down at the younger girl hugging her as if she were something gross on the bottom of her sandal.

"Usually around twenty-four hours, but luckily, I have a tiny bit left of the antidote left," Galinda said, pulling a tiny vial of bright yellow liquid.

"Thank Oz. I don't know how much more of Lady Swoon-Swoon I can take," Maia said as she took the bottle and forced the liquid down Carisse's throat.

The nymph coughed and shook her head. "Wh-What happened?"

"You don't wanna know, and I don't wanna relive it," Maia said, gently patting the younger girl's shoulder.

"I just hope Cupid didn't get to Elphaba before we caught him," Galinda said. "That would be very bad. Even though it would be very cute to see Elphie in love. She deserves it after everything she's been through."

Maia and Carisse simply gave the blonde a look and decided not to give her the speech on why the huntresses couldn't fall in love. If they told her once… they told her a thousand times before.

"Where is Elphaba now?" Carisse asked.

Galinda reached into her purse for her mirror, but her face fell. "I must have left it at home. But I know she's somewhere in the city."

"This city is huge. She could be anywhere," Maia groaned.

"Then we'd better get started," Carisse said. "We can split up. We'll each go in different directions. We'll meet back in front of the palace in an hour, whether we have Elphaba or not."

"Okay," Maia nodded, giving her friend a hug and running off.

Galinda gave Carisse a soft smile before hurrying away, leaving the nymph alone. "Elphaba, where are you?" she whispered softly to the wind before going her own way.

* * *

Seraphia moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. The last thing she remembered was being in the clutches of the minotaur and Maia…

Maia.

The girl's eyes widened. And Carisse! Were they both okay? Where were they? And where was she? The demigod looked around at her dark and gloomy surroundings. Was she dead? No, she was still breathing and her wrists and feet bindings were painful.

"Oh. You're awake."

Seraphia turned towards the voice and frowned, seeing a young man step out from the shadows. "Who are you and what am I doing here?"

"I'm Nel," the man said, stopping a few feet away from Seraphia. The girl saw that he was holding a plate of moldy bread and a glass of water and she prayed to her mother that it wasn't for her.

"And what am I doing h- where am I, exactly?"

"You're in Hades' private lair."

"That's just great," Seraphia muttered. "What am I doing here?"

"Lord Hades requested your presence."

"And he couldn't have just asked me to stop by for a visit instead of sending a minotaur to capture me?"

"You would have said no."

"Damn right I would have!" Seraphia yelled. "Who wants to visit the lord of the dead? I don't have a death wish!"

The young man stepped back. "I'm only doing as I was ordered."

Seraphia regarded him. "Are you one of those wimps who was dumb enough to sell your soul to Hades because he promised you something, then went back on his promise." She leaned forward slightly. "Was it over a girl? Did you do it to save her and then she repays you by running off with someone else less than a day later?"

Nel recoiled, but quickly recovered. "You are in no position to speak to me like that."

"That means its true. I'm sorry –actually, I'm not- but you just fell for the oldest trick in the book."

Nel looked very offended.

"And I don't have pity for people who kidnap me, so don't even ask."

Nel scowled and threw the moldy bread in the demigod's face and poured the water on her head before storming out.

"When I get out of this, you are going down! Even farther down than you already are now!" Seraphia shouted, silently reminding herself to come up with better threats.

A few minutes later, the door opened again and the lord of the dead entered. His jet black hair was a bit disheveled on his face and his dark brown (almost black) eyes stared emotionlessly straight ahead of him. His black robes flowed behind him, giving him the appearance of floating.

"Speak of the devil," Seraphia muttered as Hades stepped closer to her.

"Ah, Miss Seraphia, how nice of you to stop by," Hades said as he waved his hand and a chair appeared. He sat across from the demigod, looking very casual and relaxed.

"Now nice of you to _kidnap_ me," Seraphia retorted, a plastering a fake smile on her face.

"My apologies. I meant to bring your other two friends down here, but I guess Typhoon got distracted by something and only brought you."

"Typhoon?"

"The minotaur."

"You… you named the minotaur… you know what, never mind. I don't wanna know. But I do wanna know why I'm down here."

"That's very simple, my dear. You're leverage."

"I'm what?"

"Leverage. Against the gods on Olympus."

"This better be good."

"While all the gods are out looking for green-what's-her-face, I can access Mt. Olympus and take over."

"Haven't you given up on that? Every time you try, you only fail. Not only are you the god of the dead, but you're also the god of 'Stupid things not to do unless you want to get your butt kicked by Zeus'."

The lord of the Underworld shot up and grabbed Seraphia by the front of her toga. The girl stiffened slightly, but smirked. "If you don't like it, I can always change the name to something more catchy. Just let me sleep on it."

"You think that you can speak to me anyway you wish because I can't kill you and force you to stay down here forever."

Seraphia was still smirking. The spell Artemis used to turn her Huntresses immortal was so powerful, only she could break it. They could also be killed in battle, but that's a completely different story that didn't have any relevance at the moment.

"And wipe that smirk off your face!" Hades shouted.

"Is this anyway to treat your great-niece, Uncle Hades?" Seraphia asked, trying her best to sound innocent without throwing up. "And I came all this way to visit you. I'm your guest."

"You're my ticket to getting Olympus. I just have to find a way to get the other two girls down here."

"And what do you plan on doing then?"

Hades paused. "Why would I tell you? I am not a fool."

Seraphia was going to comment on that, but decided against it. All she could was watch as Hades threw her back into her chair and left, slamming the door behind him. She closed her eyes and focused on trying to get herself out of the bindings. Whoever tied her up, probably Nel, sucked at tying knots. Even though they were painful, she twisted her wrist and was able to pull her hands free. She undid her leg bindings and stood up. She heard voices from outside, probably Hades and Nel, and decided to eavesdrop.

"I want you to send Pasithea up there to find a daughter of Apollo named Maia and a nymph named Carisse. They are both in the Emerald City," Hades said.

"What do you plan on doing with them?" Nel asked.

"I might as well tell you, since you won't be able to stop me. I will remove their powers at Huntresses and harness them into myself, therefore giving me just enough power to take over Olympus."

"But… their just demigods… well, two of them ago, and the nymph…"

"You don't understand how powerful the Huntresses are. They have divine power from Artemis. That power combined with being a demigod… they might as well be Olympians themselves. And the nymph is almost as powerful as the two demigods are. Now, go find Pasithea. This plan must be set into motion immediately."

Footsteps grew fainter and Seraphia stepped back. So that's what Hades wanted. She couldn't believe that after all these centuries, he's still bitter about getting stuck in the Underworld. She just had to get out of there. She had a plan, but she had to wait for Maia and Carisse to get here to do so.

* * *

Maia was walking past a shop when she heard a voice calling to her. She looked up, not seeing anyone addressing her, and kept walking. The voice kept getting louder and louder and Maia realized it was coming from the alley behind one of the cafés. Frowning slightly, she followed the calling and gasped when she saw who was calling her.

"Mother?" she whispered, blinking.

A woman who looked like an older version of Maia smiled. "Hello, Maia."

"But… how…what… why…"

"I've missed you so much," the woman said as she opened up her arms.

Maia hesitated. She had seen her mother's dead body over one hundred years ago. She knew there was no possible way she was alive. She didn't know what was going on. "Say something only my mother would know."

The woman didn't waste a second. "When you were little, you were afraid of the dark and thunderstorms."

"So are a lot of little children."

"Every time it got dark or started thunder storming, you would call to your father to bring the sun back out. You hated it when you couldn't see the sun because you felt like your father wasn't there. One night, as it was thunder storming, we sat together on your bed and I told you that even when the sun went down, your father would always be with you, watching over the both of us. After that, I give you ice cream with honey and…"

"Two dashes of cinnamon," Maia said along with her mother.

"And the next day, the sun would come out and you were happy again."

Maia blinked back tears as she remembered that conversation with her mother. It was something that not even her closest friends knew about her old life before becoming a Huntress. She rushed into her mother's arms and wrapped her arms around her. "Mama… I've missed you, Mama…"

"I've missed you, too, my precious spring flower," her mother said, wrapping her arms around her.

Maia melted at hearing her old nickname. It felt good to hear it after so many years. She felt her mother's arms tighten around her before everything went black.

Fiyero smiled as he and Elphaba walked through the streets of the Emerald City. He hadn't felt this carefree in a long time, and he knew this was Elphaba's first time feeling loose and free. He gently slipped his hand into hers as they walked, and smiled when she didn't pull away. She was finally beginning to let her guard down around him and they were becoming friends.

"Do you like it?" Fiyero asked as Elphaba tried the caramel ice cream her bought her.

"It's… sweet," Elphaba said, taking another spoonful. "I like it."

"Caramel is my favorite flavor, too," Fiyero smiled.

Elphaba smiled back. "I can see why."

Carisse was watching the scene from a distance. She had been following Elphaba for a while, but didn't want to blow her cover. She couldn't believe that Elphaba was traveling with a guy, and even though she hated to admit it, he wasn't even that bad. He seemed like a pretty good guy. Cute even, especially when he smiled and his dimples would appear and…

The nymph quickly snapped out of it. No. She had to keep her mindset. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted. She was here to find Elphaba and that's it. She was about to march over to her and get her away from that guy when she heard a voice calling to her. She turned and saw someone she hadn't seen in forever.

"Hey, Carisse," a young male said, giving the huntress a boyish grin.

"T-Tol?" Carisse whispered, staring at the boy with sandy, blonde hair, brown eyes, freckles, and a smile that used to melt her heart. "Wh-What are you doing here? How can this be? I haven't seen you in over fifty years… and you still look seventeen."

"So do you."

Carisse blushed and walked over to him. "I've missed you," she whispered, brushing her hair away from her face.

"I've missed you, too. And… I'm sorry about what happened the last time we were together."

"It's okay."

Tol had been a previous boyfriend of the huntress. They were together for a relatively short time, having done their time as good friends, before Tol began to realize that Carisse wasn't like the other flirty nymphs and dumped her.

"I should have just accepted you for who you are. We have some really fun times together."

"We did," Carisse blushed.

Tol smiled and pulled his old friend onto a hug. The two stayed in each other's arms for a while before Carisse felt him gently squeeze her and everything went black.

"Are you ready now?" Elphaba asked once she finished the ice cream. "We have a long ride to Munchkinland."

The Vinkun sighed, but nodded and got up, throwing away their garbage and walked with Elphaba back to their horse. After making sure they had their belongings, they mounted and Elphaba urged the horse forward and they galloped down the yellow brick road.

* * *

 **In other news, I have my college orientation overnight tomorrow! I'm super pumped!**

 **Don't worry. Our different groups will meet up soon. Only a few more chapters left!**


	12. Sweet Reunions

**Sorry this chapter is late, everyone! College preparations are taking hold right now.**

 **ElphieNeedsAHug: Don't worry. I fooled a lot of people with that (including Sera) *Smirk***

* * *

When Maia and Carisse came to, they found their hands and ankles bound and tied to chairs. They were sitting back to back, with Seraphia on the end.

"Hey," Seraphia said, smiling slightly.

"Sera, you're alright!" Carisse exclaimed, struggling to turn and look at her friend.

"Where are we?" Maia asked, looking around.

"Hades' place."

"We're in the Underworld?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

"That's a long story," Seraphia said as she slipped out of her bindings and went to work on her friends'.

"You weren't tied up?" Carisse asked as she rubbed her wrists.

"I was, but the idiot that tied me up sucks at it. Anyway, Hades is using us to try and steal our powers so he can take over Olympus."

"What?" both girls gasped.

"Hey, all I'm saying is that even though he's not the goddess of wisdom, even he should know that that's a very stupid idea."

"We have to get out of here," Maia moaned.

"How? Wait… before we get out of here, can we take a moment to figure out how we got here?"

"A quick one. Hades sent Pasithea to you two."

Carisse sighed. "The goddess of hallucinations."

"So… we were hallucinating? And they used my _mother_ to get to me?! Oh, that's just low!" Maia growled.

"And I thought I was seeing an old bo- and old friend on mine," Carisse amended, but not without getting a look from Maia and Seraphia.

"Now how do we get out of here?" Maia asked.

"There's only one way out without Hades… or even Hermes."

"Persephone's Pearls. But none are down here."

"That's what Persephone wants us to think," Seraphia said, going over to the sofa and, lifting a cushion, pulled out three pearls. "They really should know that the first place people look for these types of things in under cushions. Plus, I had some extra time to look around and snoop."

"Wow… that was easy," Carisse said as she took a pearl.

"Too easy. I feel like this was planted. Like… Hades wanted us to escape."

"Don't worry. I have a plan," Seraphia smirked.

"What does this plan involve?" Maia asked.

"Outsmarting death."

"We've kinda been doing that for a while," Carisse said.

"Valid point. But I meant that we're gonna get out of here," Seraphia said, smirking at the pearl. "And we're going to go back to the Emerald City."

"Elphaba's probably gone by now," Carisse said.

"I know, but going to the Emerald City is our best bet right now."

"I don't care where we go, as long as we get out of here," Maia said, shivering.

"Okay, let's go," Seraphia said as the girls crushed the pearls beneath their feet, holding hands and thinking about where they want to go. They closed their eyes when they felt the magic beginning to work. When they opened them again, they were back in the Emerald City.

"Munchkinland is east, and that's probably where Elphaba is headed. Let's go!"

"We're going on foot?" Maia asked, inwardly groaning.

"Unless you have another way."

"We can buy a horse," Carisse suggested. "Elphaba probably is riding on one."

"Buy a horse with what money?" Seraphia asked.

Carisse simply smirked and pulled out a coin purse filled with green pennies, and a handful of gold pennies.

"First the apples, and now this," Maia said, clearly impressed.

"I like to be prepared," the nymph smiled as they hurried to the nearest stable and bought a horse.

* * *

Elphaba and Fiyero were a quarter of the way to Munchkinland. Elphaba was pushing the horse to a full gallop, leaving Fiyero to cling to her for dear life.

"Do we have to go so fast?" he whimpered.

"We can't afford to waste anymore time," Elphaba said, half-distracted.

The horse jumped over a fallen tree and Fiyero almost fell off. "Fae!" he shouted. Elphaba grabbed his hand and pulled him back up.

"Thanks, Fae," Fiyero said softly after recovering from seeing his life flash before his eyes.

"I still don't know why you came up with that nickname."

"I think it's cute."

"I think it's stupid. It doesn't even sound like my name."

"Well, I like it, so it's staying. You still have to give me one."

"Keep dreaming."

Fiyero smirked as he clung to the green girl sitting in front of him and leaned forward against her. If Elphaba noticed, she didn't say anything. She simply stared straight ahead on the road.

Suddenly, a bright light came out of nowhere and Elphaba pulled on the reins. The horse reared and this time, Fiyero fell off, landing flat on his back. Both travelers shielded their eyes and waited for the light to dim down. When it finally did, the pair found themselves surrounded by a small army of seven soldiers.

"You are not escaping now," all of them said in a unison monotone.

At first, Fiyero thought they were his stepfather's soldiers, but when he got a closer look at one of them, he noticed a lily flower on their helmets. He quickly figured out who had sent these soldiers.

It took Elphaba a bit longer to figure it out, and when she did, she was more than angry. "Why are you here?" she asked, clearly annoyed and ready to fight.

"You are not getting away this time," the soldiers said in the same monotone as they slowly closed in on them.

Elphaba dismounted and went to Fiyero's side. She helped him up and they stood back to back.

"Do you have a plan?" Fiyero asked.

"I didn't expect this," Elphaba said. "This is the second time Hera sent someone after me to try and kill me."

"How do you know they want to kill you?"

"First, she tried to drown me, and now, I don't think these soldiers came to buy us dinner."

"Well, what do we do now?"

"See how far we can go."

Fiyero smirked, knowing that he was thinking the same thing as Elphaba. He waited until the soldiers were close enough and Elphaba gave him the signal, then both of them began to attack.

The soldiers didn't seem fazed as they blocked and attacked. Elphaba and Fiyero delivered quick punches and dodged swords, but nothing seemed to be weakening the soldiers. One of them managed to pin Fiyero down and his face was mere centimeters away from his. Grunting, Fiyero kicked him off and quickly rose to his feet. The soldier rolled and stopped on his side, glaring at Fiyero. He pushed himself to his feet and coughed, fire coming out of his mouth.

"Okay… what's going on?" Fiyero blinked.

The soldiers stopped fighting and began to merge together and grow. Before Elphaba and Fiyero knew it, a seven-headed hydra was standing tall over them.

"Oh… this is a problem," the Vinkun muttered, unable to take his eyes off the monster. "Hera is _not_ playing games."

"And neither am I," Elphaba growled.

"Eh… Fae? Are you sure about this?" Fiyero asked as he watched Elphaba ready her bow and arrow.

"Do what?"

"Fight the hydra sent by an angry Hera. Not only does it have its powers, but it also under the influence of a very angry goddess."

"Either we kill it, or it kills us. Which one do you want?" Elphaba snapped, drawing her bow.

"I like option number two," Fiyero said.

Elphaba shot arrow after arrow at the monster, but nothing was working. Fiyero knew better than to cut off its heads, so he tried stabbing the monster instead, but that didn't work. The heads were spitting fire at them, making it even harder to defeat.

After a while, the monster managed to pin Elphaba down with its foot. "Elphaba!" Fiyero shouted, running to her side. The monster hit Fiyero like a baseball with its tail, sending the prince flying into a tree.

The green girl laid there, completely helpless under the monster's foot. The seven-heads all roared together, looking ready to chow down on the green girl. The roaring came to an abrupt halt and suddenly, the monster slumped to the ground. Elphaba was able to scurry out and readied her weapon. The monster looked calmed and looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"What…" Elphaba whispered, but was interrupted by a squeal and someone tackling her to the ground.

"ELPHIE! THANK OZ YOU'RE ALRIGHT!"

"G-Galinda?" Elphaba asked, looking up at her best friend.

"YES! OH MY OZ, ELPHIE! I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"

"Glin, volume…"

"I DON'T CARE! ELPHABA, I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU! THE GODS ARE AFTER YOU AND WE WERE TRYING TO FIND YOU, BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE YOU WERE!"

Elphaba winced at the blonde shouting and was pulled away by a soft moan. "Fiyero!" she gasped, pushing the blonde off of her and running towards the Vinkun.

"F-Fae?" Fiyero asked as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Yero, are you alright?" Elphaba asked, caressing his cheek.

"I will be once the ground stops spinning. Why are there three of you?"

Elphaba smiled softly. She was just glad that her travel companion was alright. "You'll be fine."

"Hydra…"

Elphaba turned back to the monster. "I have no idea what happened."

"I do. I used one of Cupid's calming arrows to stop the hydra from killing you," Galinda spoke up, stepping into the Vinkun's line of vision.

"I didn't know you fought monsters," Elphaba smirked as she gently helped the Vinkun to his feet.

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Literally," the blonde said, rolling her eyes before resting her gaze on Fiyero. "Oh, hello," she smiled, batting her eyelashes as she sashayed over to him. "I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Galinda Arduenna Upland, daughter of Aphrodite."

"Ah… Fiyero Tigulaar, son of Dionysus," Fiyero said, taking Galinda's hand and kissing her knuckles.

Elphaba rolled her eyes, but Galinda was completely swooning. "Aren't you the prince of the Vinkus?"

"Ex-prince."

Galinda didn't notice the tone in his voice and continued to flirt. "Oh. I've heard stories about you. You're very famous in the Gillikin." The blonde went on and on, hardly noticing the looks the green girl was sending her to stop talking.

"Galinda!" Elphaba finally interrupted, holding her hands in front of her friend. "We get it."

Galinda blinked, realizing that she was rambling. "Oh. I'm sorry. I'm rambling. But anyway, Elphaba, we need to get you back to the camp."

"I can't go back yet, Galinda. I'm so close to finding my family," Elphaba said.

"But Elphie… this… I don't know how to tell you this… but…"

"There they are!" a voice called.

Elphaba stiffened, ready to defend herself when she realized who it was. "Seraphia? Carisse? Maia?"

The three girls on horseback slowed the horse to a stop before jumping off and running towards the green girl. They all tackled her to the ground in a hug.

"We finally found you!" Maia exclaimed.

"We were so worried!" Seraphia said, hugging Elphaba's neck.

"We're just glad you're okay," Carisse smiled.

"Guys…" Elphaba whispered, seemingly struggling to get the words out.

"Yes?" Maia asked innocently.

"Air…"

"Right. Sorry," Seraphia said as she gently loosened her grip, as did the other girls.

All four girls got up and their eyes rested on Fiyero. Maia frowned, Carisse just stared at him, and Seraphia tried desperately to hide her blush.

"Who are you?" Maia asked abruptly.

Fiyero clearly looked scared for his life, but Elphaba jumped to his defense. "It's alright, Maia. This is Fiyero. He's been… helping me."

"With what?" Carisse asked, still staring at Fiyero.

"He helped me get here. Without him, I don't know what would have happened."

"You would be sick from those berries in the forest," Fiyero quipped.

Elphaba sent him a look, and the Vinkun slowly backed away.

Seraphia spoke up. "Anyway, now that we found you, it's time that we go back to the camp. Lady Artemis will be…"

"Furious," Carisse said at the same time, Maia said, "Relieved." Both girls looked at each other and swapped answers at the same time. They shared another look and gave up.

"Both of those," Seraphia finished.

"But we're so close. My family is in Munchkinland," Elphaba said.

"We know," Carisse said.

Elphaba paused. "You… what?"

"We know about your family, Elphaba," Maia said gently.

"When… when did you find out?"

"Lady Artemis told us the story about what happened to you and why you don't remember anything shortly after you left."

"She told you… everything?"

"Yes," Seraphia nodded.

"Then tell me."

"We…" Carisse started. "We can't."

"You can't. Why not?"

"It's… really complicated. This is just better off staying buried in the past where it belongs," Seraphia said.

"But it's the key to where I belong!" Elphaba argued.

"But you do belong somewhere, Elphaba! You belong with us. The Huntresses are a family," Maia said.

"At least you two know your birth families, regardless of what happened to them!"

Maia recoiled slightly at that remark. "Elphaba, we…"

"You know where you come from! You have memories of your childhood! I have nothing!"

"You have us," Carisse whispered.

"Elphaba, do you think we want to remember everything? I would give anything to go to the Pool of Forgetfulness and forget some things that happened in my past. But we can't. And not just because I made a personal vow to myself never to set foot in the Underworld again," Maia said.

"I want to know my past. I want to know my family. And if you won't tell me, I'll just continue this journey on my own. I've come too far to turn back now." And with that, Elphaba looked around for the horse, but it wasn't there. Sometime during the fighting, it must have run away. Growling, she jumped onto the horse Maia, Carisse, and Seraphia brought and rode off, ignoring the calls of "Elphaba!" behind her.

"That went well," Maia said, slumping against the tree.

"We have to catch up to her!" Fiyero said.

All four girls looked at him. "We?" Seraphia asked.

"Yes, _we_ have to get her. _You_ can stay here or go back to wherever you came from," Maia said.

"I want to help Elphaba, too," Fiyero said.

"We will need all the help we can get," Galinda said, smiling at Fiyero.

The Huntress looked at the love goddesses' daughter before turning huddling in a small group.

"Can we trust him?" Seraphia asked.

"He does seem to care about Elphaba," Carisse admitted.

"He seems to care too much, if you ask me," Maia said, looking up to glare at the Vinkun.

"If he comes with us, we'll have to keep a close eye on him," Seraphia said.

"I'm sure Galinda won't have a problem with that," Carisse said.

"That's what I'm worried about," Maia sighed. She broke out of the huddle and approached the prince. "You may come with us to retrieve Elphaba. But if you try something funny, you'll regret it."

Fiyero nodded vigorously at the girl, mostly because he was still scared of her. "Okay." He had to help find her. She had finally given him a nickname and he didn't even get a chance to tell her that he approved of it.

"Good. Let's get moving. We don't have any other option but to… walk," Seraphia said, groaning to herself.

"You think Hermes could help us out?" Maia asked, clearly not wanting to walk anymore.

"There's only one way to find out," Carisse said and the three Huntresses beseeched the god of travelers.

* * *

 **The end is approaching. Around two more chapters to go!**


	13. A Family Affair

**Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: Yes, Fiyero is so scared of you, he's worried about you even when it's not your story he's being tortured in. :P**

* * *

"Are you in love with Elphaba?"

Fiyero startled and looked up at the huntress. Maia, wasn't it? "Am I… what?"

"Are you in love with Elphaba?" Maia repeated, emphasizing every word. Being the daughter of Apollo, the demigod was able to summon one of her father's sacred animals, a wolf, to get them to Munchkinland. Two had appeared and she found herself sharing a ride with Fiyero and Carisse while Seraphia shared with Galinda.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about," the Vinkun said.

"It's a simple question. Yes or no?"

Fiyero paused. "I… we've been traveling together and have developed a friendship and…"

"He's blushing," Galinda interrupted. "That means he has feelings for her."

The Vinkun was about to comment, then he remembered that Galinda was the daughter of the goddess of love. "I haven't acted on those feelings. Fae and I are just friends."

"Fae?" Carisse blinked.

"You gave her a nickname?" Galinda asked.

"Don't you have a nickname for her?" Fiyero asked.

"Yes, an extra perky nickname that she hates, but I use anyway because I can. 'Fae' sounds more… romantic. Believe me, I know," the blonde said.

"We've… grown to… tolerate each other."

"Tolerate?"

"What do you want me to say?" the Vinkun suddenly snapped.

"The truth would be nice," Carisse chimed.

"We've… become… friends."

"You hesitated," Seraphia pointed out.

Fiyero groaned. "Look, I know you Huntress girls had to take some type of oath against having relationships with men, but do you _really_ have to be so mean? It's not like I'm going to ask Elphaba to marry me. We're. Just. Friends."

"Haven't you girls ever had any male friends before?" Galinda asked.

"Yes," the girls said.

"But I didn't date any of them," Carisse said.

"I'm not dating Elphaba," Fiyero protested.

"Then why did you buy her ice cream?"

The Vinkun blinked. "You… you saw that?"

"He did _what_?!" Seraphia and Maia shouted together.

"You two were having ice cream together. In the Emerald City," Carisse said.

"You found her in the Emerald City?" Maia asked.

"I was going to get her, but then I got distracted and kidnapped to Hades.

"That's where you were?" Galinda asked, glad that she found out the reason her friends weren't at the meeting place.

"I got kidnapped, too," Maia said.

Before they knew it, Maia, Seraphia, Carisse, and Galinda had gotten into comparing stories and had completely left Fiyero out, which he didn't mind in the least.

* * *

Elphaba didn't know how long she was riding, but before she knew it, she saw a sign that said "Munchkinland: Colwen Grounds: Two Miles". She sighed, knowing that she was almost there. She was so close to finding her past. She just hoped the nothing else would get in the way. This was what she desired more than anything in the world. She just had to succeed.

"Elphaba."

The green girl slowed the horse to a stop and look around. She was sure she had heard someone calling her, but no one was around.

"Elphaba."

She heard it again. This time, she looked down and saw a young girl, around seventeen years old, with creamy, light brown skin and thick, long, flowing black hair. Her chocolate eyes stared back at Elphaba and there was a light glow surrounding her.

"Hello, Elphaba," the younger girl spoke.

"Hello," Elphaba said, somewhat warily. Who was this person and what did they want?

"I am Nicia, goddess of desires of the hearts," the goddess said, sensing Elphaba's question.

Elphaba was immediately defensive. Was she sent by Hera to try and capture her… or worse?

"I am here to help you. Do not worry," Nicia said. "You desire to know where your family is, correct?"

Elphaba thought for a moment. Could she trust this goddess? She had been through so much to just turn back now. But she couldn't let anything else stop her from finding out the truth. She was so close. "Yes."

Nicia smiled softly. "Very well. Your mother's name is Melena Thropp. She lives in a small house in Colwen Grounds with a dark blue roof. Is that all you wish to know?"

Elphaba smiled. She knew her mother's name and where to find her. "Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much!"

The goddess nodded and stepped aside, watching as Elphaba rode away. "Poor child," the goddess whispered. "She won't remember you."

Elphaba soon reached Colwen Grounds and tied the horse to the horse post. She walked through the market, wondering who her mother was. She simply focused on finding the small house with the dark blue roof. The search took less time than she expected, since it was near the market area. Gulping down her nerves, she knocked on the door three times.

"Can I help you?"

Elphaba turned around and saw a middle-aged woman, in her mid-sixties, clutching a basket of fruits and vegetables in her right hand. Her greying-brown hair was pulled back in a bun and there were a few wrinkles on her face. She looked like an older version of the green girl, minus the black hair and the green skin.

"Are you… Melena Thropp?" Elphaba asked slowly.

The woman seemed started, though whether it was from Elphaba's green skin or the fact that she knew her name, Elphaba didn't know. "Yes. Why?"

Elphaba tried her best to remain calm. "My… my name is Elphaba. Elphaba… Thropp."

The woman gasped softly and almost dropped her basket. She stared at the green girl with wide eyes, almost as if she couldn't believe it. The door opened and Elphaba turned back around, looking down at a young boy who was staring back up at her.

"Mama! There's a strange woman at the door with Grandma!" the boy called inside the house.

"Herar, what have a told you about answering the door like that?" a woman called. Soon, wheels could be heard from inside and a young woman in her late twenties appeared. She looked like a younger carbon copy of Melena, but was in a wheelchair. She picked up her son and settled him into her lap before looking up at Elphaba. Startled by her skin, she quickly recovered and forced a small smile. "Hello. How may we help you?"

"Nessarose…" Melena said softly from behind Elphaba, almost struggling to find her voice. "I… we… we need to talk."

Nessa got the message and told Herar that it was time for his nap. The younger boy protested, but the wheelchair bound woman would hear none-of-it. Melena looked up at the green girl and invited her inside.

"Would you like something to drink?" Melena asked as she placed the groceries down.

"No, thank you," Elphaba said, looking around the house.

"Please, sit," Melena said, gesturing to the large sofa.

Elphaba sat down and Melena sat across from her in a slightly shorter couch.

"You… you said your last name is Thropp?" Melena asked after a short pause.

Elphaba nodded. "Yes."

Melena looked at her with no recognition, which confused the green girl. Wouldn't she remember giving birth to a green daughter? "Are you a relative of Frexspar's?"

Elphaba blinked. What was going on? Didn't she remember her?

"If you are here to visit him, I'm afraid you're too late. Frex passed away three years ago from influenza," Melena said before Elphaba could answer her first question.

"Mother, why are you talking about Father?" the girl, Nessarose, asked as she came back. Her eyes rested on the green girl and she frowned slightly.

"She is a relative, Nessa," Melena said gently. "She has your father's last name."

Nessa looked the green girl up and down. "How were you related to my father?" She didn't sound impolite, but Elphaba could tell she wasn't exactly thrillified, either.

"I… I was his… daughter," Elphaba said, quickly putting the pieces together. If Melena was her mother, than her late-husband must have been her father.

Melena gasped and Nessa went pale. They were both staring at her as if she had lost her mind.

"That's… that's impossible," Nessa finally said. "Father never had any other children other than me."

"Nessa," Melena said softly.

"Whatever your real business is here, you might as well tell us. There is no need to lie like this!"

"I'm not lying. At least… I don't think I am."

"You don't think?" Melena asked softly.

"Around thirty years ago, when I was four, I woke up with Lady Artemis in her huntress camp. I have no memories of where I came from or anything else before that moment."

"Thirty years ago?" Nessa interrupted, earning her a look from her mother. "But you don't look like you're over twenty."

"I'm not," Elphaba explained gently. "I'm a huntress of Artemis. I joined when I was eighteen, so that's how old I'll stay forever."

Nessa frowned, but sat back in her chair.

"I was told that I would be able to find my family here," Elphaba continued.

"Who told you that?"

"The oracle of Ozma told me that my family is in Munchkinland and the goddess Nicia told me your name," the green girl answered, looking at Melena.

The older woman blinked slowly, as if trying to force herself not to faint. "I… I'm sorry, but I don't remember…"

"Neither do I," Elphaba said, thinking that whoever erased her memories must have done the same to Melena's.

"Well, I don't believe any of this," Nessa said stiffly. "If you're looking for money, we barely have any. There are three mouths to feed in this house and we don't need to add another one."

"Nessarose!" Melena snapped.

"I'm not looking for money," Elphaba said. "I just want to find where I belong."

"Well, wherever it is, it's not here," Nessa said as she wheeled away, probably to check on her son.

"I'm so sorry," Melena said, looking at Elphaba. "I… I don't know what's gotten into her."

"It's okay," Elphaba said as she stood up. "I'm sorry to have bothered you." She made for the door, but a gentle hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Wait," Melena said softly. "I… I'm sorry I don't remember you. It must be awful not knowing whether or not you have a family."

Elphaba turned around and looked at the older woman.

"There must be someone somewhere who could confirm all of this."

As if on cue, a knock at the door interrupted them. Melena went to answer it and found four young women and a young man standing right outside. "How may I help you?"

"Is a green girl named Elphaba Thropp here?" a voice asked that Elphaba immediately recognized as Carisse.

"What are you guys doing here? How did you get here so fast? And how did you find me?" Elphaba's asked in a rushed tone.

"We don't have time to explain that now," Maia said, sounding out of breath. "We have a problem."

"What problem?" Elphaba asked.

A loud roar was heard behind them and Elphaba looked up, seeing a hellhound rampaging through the village.

"A hellhound," Elphaba gasped.

"Straight from the pit of Hades himself," Seraphia confirmed.

"But why?"

"I don't know, but we have to stop it."

The hellhound turned and noticed the ground in the doorway. It roared and charged directly at them. It was around three feet away and about to bounce when it was struck down by an arrow. All the heads turned simultaneously as a young woman holding a bow and quiver approached them. The woman was all too familiar and the girls knew they were in for it.

"Uh oh," Maia muttered.

"We're gonna be in _so_ much trouble," Seraphia groaned.

"Lady Artemis, we –" Carisse began, but the goddess held up her hand to silence her.

"I do not want to hear any excuses," Artemis said. She turned to look at Elphaba, who was looking down at the ground. "Why did you run away?"

"I… I had to find my family. I… I just could live without any memories anymore, especially not since everyone else had a story and I had… nothing," Elphaba said, not quite meeting the goddess' gaze.

The goddess looked around at everyone gathered and sighed. "I will tell you the story, Elphaba." She didn't sound happy, and Elphaba knew that it wasn't just because she was annoyed with her huntresses.

Melena invited everyone back inside and went around the house, fussing and trying to make sure that everything was perfect. She never expected a goddess to be under her roof, and it was very apparent. The noise brought Nessa back out, and she was fully prepared to yell at Elphaba once she saw her, but once she saw the bright aura surrounding Artemis, she immediately closed her mouth and bowed her head in deference.

"The truth is… Elphaba, you are, in fact, Melena's daughter," Artemis began.

Elphaba and Melena shared a look. Nessa frowned and looked down at her lap.

"But your father wasn't Frexspar, and that's where the problems started. Around two years after marrying Frexspar, Melena had an affair that resulted in her becoming impregnated with you. This, as you can imagine, did not sit too well with Hera. She was so enraged that she was going to kill both you and Melena, but Sophelia, your mother's sister, was a priestess of Hera and beseeched her not to kill either of you. She explained that Frex wasn't being an ideal husband. He was hardly home and barely spoke to your mother. So, Hera refrained from killing Melena, but it only made her hatred for you grow. Once you were born, Hera began plotting different ways to kill you, all of which were unsuccessful," she added when she saw Elphaba's horrified expression.

"What… what did she do?" Elphaba asked, looking up at the goddess.

"She would disguise herself and try to kidnap you. She would send monsters after you. She tried many things, but the more she tried, the more she failed. Frex had thought that you were a demon sent from Hades because of all the monsters and mysterious happenings surrounding you. Then he began to try to kill you. Finally, when you were four, he took you out and tried to kill you by burning you."

Melena gasped. "Frex tried to do that?"

Elphaba remembered the dream she had about crying and seeing nothing but fire and hearing her father's voice and closed her eyes, trying to shut out the memory.

"Yes," Artemis nodded. "But that's when I stopped him. I had known that he was being influenced by both Hera and Hades. I didn't know what Hades would have gotten out of that, but I just couldn't let an innocent life be taken away like that. It goes against the Code of Life. And Hera knew that, but she didn't care."

"So, because Hera had made a promise not to take her anger out on my mother, she took it out on me instead?" Elphaba asked.

"Hera takes these types of matters very seriously. So seriously, she sometimes doesn't stop to think clearly. She never breaks a promise, especially to her priestess, so she decided that you were the next target."

"Then… who is my father?"

"He was a traveling salesperson who was stationed in Munchkinland. Years later, he was killed in a carriage accident."

Elphaba looked down, but didn't say anything else, so the goddess continued. "I couldn't just take you away, or else you would have been scared by the many attempts to take you down to Hades. So I erased your memories. I also erased the memories Frex and Melena had of you, as well as anyone who had seen you."

"So… it's like I never existed?"

Artemis seemed to struggle with herself. She couldn't say yes, but she couldn't say no, either. "I gave Frex and Melena new memories of their past four years, and took you with me, someplace I knew Hera could never hurt you."

Melena gently placed her hand on her newly discovered daughter's knee, but gently removed it when she felt Elphaba stiffen against her touch.

"Their life continued on, as did yours. I knew Hera wouldn't leave this family alone if you were still here. She would still try to kill you. I took you with me because it was the right thing to do."

Nessa had been listening the whole time. She had to admit, she felt bad for her half-sister. Everything she had been through sounded horrific. She felt bad for treating her the way she did. "Elphaba?"

The green girl looked up.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you the way I did."

Elphaba offered her a small smile and nodded before resuming her gaze on the floor.

"Elphaba?" Galinda asked, looking at her best friend. "P-Please say something."

"I… excuse me," Elphaba said, jumping up and running out of the house.

"Elphaba!" Maia called after the green girl.

"Let her go," Artemis said. "She needs time to process all of this."

Melena looked down. She had another daughter that she didn't even remember. She didn't remember the affair or any of its aftermath. She felt guilty. She knew that this was all her fault. Of course she didn't mean for all of this to happen, but it did, and now there was nothing she could do about it.

A loud gasp from outside caught everyone's attention and they hurried outside. Elphaba was standing there, rigid with a mixture of fear and pain on her face. A foot away stood the goddess Hera, holding out her hand like she was choking her.

"Hera, stop!" Artemis shouted, frowning. "What are you doing?"

"Teaching a lesson. Let this be a lesson to all who think they can defile a marriage so easily!" Hera shouted.

The huntresses hurried towards their friend, but with a wave of her hand, Hera froze them in place. She also froze Melena, Nessa, and Galinda as she raised her hand over her head, a large black ball of magic appearing in her hands. The goddess let out a snarl as she hurled it at the green girl.

"NO!" Fiyero shouted, as he jumped in front of Elphaba, shielding her from Hera's blast. It hit him instead and he fell to the ground, limp.

* * *

 **CLIFFY!**

 **We finally learned about Elphaba's past! And yes, Nicia made a last minute comeback. I just had to. And the next chapter will be the final chapter!**


	14. Eternal Protector

**Here we are, everyone! The final chapter! It's been such an amazing journey!**

* * *

All everyone could do was stare as Hera hurled the magic at Fiyero. After a few moments, the goddess undid her spell on them and Elphaba crumbled to the ground next to Fiyero.

"Yero?" she whispered, stroking his hair away from his face. "Fiyero, please wake up."

The Vinkun groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "F-Fae?"

"I'm here, Yero. I'm right here," Elphaba said, knowing that she didn't have a lot of time left.

"I would say your goodbyes now if I were you," Hera said casually.

Artemis turned and looked at the queen of the gods. "Hera, was this really necessary?"

"It wouldn't have killed her. It would have inflicted so much pain on her that she would have been begging for death," Hera said. "But it would kill a mere mortal, obviously."

"And there's no way to save him?"

"Not unless I make one."

"Which you won't?"

"I have no reason to do such a thing."

"Fae," Fiyero whispered, his voice so soft the green girl barely heard him.

"I'm here," the green girl whispered.

"I… I love you."

Elphaba gasped softly. He… he loved her? He couldn't have meant that. They had only known each other for a few days. She looked down at him, gazing into his eyes, which were starting to become clouded over, and saw love for her in his eyes.

"I love you, too… Yero my hero," Elphaba whispered.

The Vinkun smiled softly as he reached up and gently stroked Elphaba's cheek. Elphaba melted against his touch and soon found herself closing the gap in between them. Her lips met his and she immediately felt something wash over her. She couldn't describe it, but she pushed it aside as felt Fiyero weakly kiss her back. She pulled away just as his last breath escaped his lips and he went limp in the her arms. Time seemed to stop for a moment. Everyone's eyes rested on the dead ex-Vinkun prince being held by the green girl.

A tear slowly slid down Elphaba's cheek and landed in between Fiyero's slightly parted lips. Another one followed and pretty soon, Elphaba found herself sobbing.

"Elphaba," Maia whispered, placing a hand on the green girl's shoulder.

Elphaba shrugged her off and Maia stepped back, waiting for the green girl to finish her tears. Sure enough, Elphaba stopped crying and, wiping her eyes, looked up at Hera. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Hera simply stared at the green girl. "You are?"

"You have no reason to be sorry, Elphaba," Artemis said. "You did nothing wrong."

"You're one to talk."

"What do you mean?"

"Aren't you going to punish her for breaking her vows and falling in love?"

Artemis looked back at Elphaba, who bowed her head. She knew that she deserved some kind of punishment for going against her vows, but for some reason, the goddess faltered. "I don't want to give Elphaba something that she doesn't deserve."

The green girl looked up, daring to be hopeful.

"Elphaba, do you wish to stay here and live out the rest of your life with your family?"

Elphaba looked at her mother and sister before looking at her friends. Carisse, Seraphia, and Maia gave her an encouraging smile. Galinda gave her friend a slight nod. "I… I do," Elphaba finally whispered.

"I will remove your immortality and you will continue to age normally from here-on-out. I will also alter your memories so you won't remember the Huntresses or your life with us. I will give you memories with your family that would have happened if things were normal. Are you sure this is what you want?"

Elphaba paused. She wouldn't remember her friends? Carisse, Maia, Seraphia and Galinda were such good friends.

"You want this more than anything, Elphaba," Seraphia said. "Stay with your family."

"Will… will we be safe?" Elphaba asked, looking from Artemis to Hera.

Artemis sighed. "I originally kept this a secret from you because Hera agreed to let her grudge go since you wouldn't remember anything."

"But once you started to find out more and more, that made that agreement null and void," Hera said. "But I promise to refrain from trying to kill you or your family."

Elphaba looked at Hera for a moment. "Thank you," she said gratefully. She looked down at Fiyero. "What about Fiyero?"

"We'll take care of him," a male voice said.

Everyone turned around and saw two men, both with an aura, though one was much stronger than the other. One wore a golden toga with a shinning silver clip and the other wore a deep purple toga with a grape pin. Everyone, except Hera and Artemis, bowed to the two men.

"Zeus, Dionysus, what are you doing here?" Artemis asked.

"We're here to give my son the reward he deserves," Dionysus said, a certain sadness in his eyes as he walked towards his son's dead body. He said a quick blessing and stood up, allowing Zeus to take his place. The king of the gods waved his hand over the demigod and he slowly began to disappear, leaving a bunch of tiny stars in his place. Zeus picked up the stars and threw them up into the sky.

"He'll be forever immortalized in the stars," Zeus said.

Dionysus nodded, avoiding Hera's gaze as he walked away. The king of the gods sighed before approaching his wife.

"Don't you dare," Hera hissed.

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"You were going to tell me to apologize."

"Well, I do think you owe Dionysus an apology for unnecessarily killing his son."

"It is not my fault he got hit."

"Hera, in the words of the moderns, 'you need to chill'. You take everything too personally and things like this happen."

Hera simply glared at her husband.

"Please, sweetheart. I don't want to go through this right now. I already had to deal with Hades thinking that we were all still searching for Elphaba after Artemis said that she would do it on her own. He came to Olympus thinking that he would just walk in and take over. Obviously, he didn't succeed," the head Olympian said with a soft chuckle.

The goddess simply rolled her eyes before waving her hand, disappearing from sight. Zeus groaned before he followed suit, secretly knowing that he would have to deal with his very angry wife sooner or later.

Artemis turned back to Elphaba. "Are you ready, Elphaba?"

"I am," the green girl nodded.

"Wait!" Galinda shouted. She hurried toward her best friend and wrapped her arms tightly around her. "I'll miss you so much, Elphie! You were the bestest friend I've ever had!"

"I'll miss you, too, Glin," Elphaba smiled sadly, returning the hug. "And that means a lot, considering you've had so many friends."

The blonde made a noise that sounded somewhere in between a laugh and a sob, and let go so the other three huntresses could say goodbye to the green girl.

"We'll miss you," Seraphia said as she gave the green girl a big hug.

"We'll never forget you," Carisse said. "Even though the feeling won't be mutual."

Elphaba laughed softly.

"Ditto what they said," Maia said, joining the hug.

"Not one for sentiment?" Carisse asked.

"I'm not good at goodbyes. That's about as sentimental as I'll get," Maia shrugged. "Elphaba understands, right?"

"Of course," Elphaba said, though she rolled her eyes.

Maia mimicked her and all four girls shared one final laugh together before Elphaba turned back to Artemis.

"You won't remember Fiyero either. Are you sure you want this?" the goddess asked one final time.

"Yes," Elphaba said after a pause. She didn't want to forget Fiyero, but deep down, she held onto the hope that she would always know that he was watching over her from above.

Artemis nodded and waved her hand over Elphaba's head. The green girl closed her eyes as she began to feel lightheaded, which she suspected was Artemis removing her immortality. She opened her eyes and saw Carisse, Galinda, Maia, and Seraphia all smiling sadly at her before everything went black.

"She will be fine in a few moments," Artemis said as Melena rushed towards her daughter. She waved her hand and created a large orange sphere, which she threw into the air. It broke into millions of tiny specks of dust and rained down on the town.

"Did you just alter everyone's memories?" Seraphia asked the goddess, watching as Nessarose and Melena blinked their eyes due to the dust.

Artemis nodded. "It will be much easier this way."

"So… all's well that ends well," Carisse said with a nervous chuckle.

The goddess simply stared at her huntresses.

"Not quite?" Maia asked with a sheepish look.

Artemis slowly shook her head. She waved her hand and all she, Galinda, Carisse, Seraphia, and Maia all disappeared.

* * *

"Mommy! Daddy! Come on!" a little boy shouted as he ran out of the back entrance and into the garden.

"We're coming, Nanuk," Elphaba laughed, coming out hand in hand with her husband of six years, Alton. She had met him when she was twenty. He was quick to accept her skin and they dated for a year and a half years before he asked her to marry him. She, of course, said yes immediately and they were married seven months later, welcoming Nanuk into their lives the following year.

The four year old giggled and turned around, jumping into his father's arms. The man gave a grunt, but quickly chuckled, ruffling his son's hair. "The stars are coming out!" Nanuk laughed, pointing up into the sky.

The family laid on the grass, with little Nanuk in between his parents, as they gazed up at the stars, just like they did every night.

"Do you remember what that one is?" Elphaba asked her son, pointing to a constellation.

"Andromeda," the little boy giggled.

"Right. And what's that one?" Alton asked, pointing to another star pattern.

"The big dipper! That one's easy," Nanuk said proudly.

"And that one?" Elphaba asked, knowing that her son knew the answer as she pointed to a constellation that looked like a young man standing in a heroic pose with his hands on his hips.

"The Hero," Nanuk said. "Tell me the story again, Mommy."

"Yes, tell us the story again, Mommy," Alton chuckled.

Elphaba rolled her eyes, but smiled as she looked at the constellation of the young hero. "Once, there was a young hero boy who loved this girl very much, but she didn't return his feelings for her. So, in order to prove his love for her, he sacrificed his life to save her. The gods, taking pity on him, decided to immortalize him in the stars forever, so he can watch over her every single night."

"And does the girl know that he's watching over her every night?" Nanuk asked.

"I'm sure she does, sweetie," Elphaba smiled, tickling her son. "Whoever she is, wherever she is, she's one very lucky girl."

"Do you think there's someone watching over us, too?"

"Everyone has someone watching over them, Nanuk," Alton said, holding his son's hand.

"Even Grandma, Auntie Nessa, and Herar?"

"Even them."

"Even all of Oz and beyond?"

"All of Oz and beyond, and even beyond the beyond," Alton confirmed.

Nanuk smiled at the answer and reached for his mother's hand. Elphaba smiled and took her son's little hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Nanuk squeezed back and they continued to look at the stars. Alton taught their son new constellations, but Elphaba was still looking up at 'The Hero' constellation. Something about it seemed very familiar. She couldn't place her finger on it, but something about it comforted her. Almost as if the person immortalized in the stars was watching over her. A gentle breeze whipped past them and she smiled, softly closing her eyes.

From his eternal place in the nighttime sky, Fiyero smiled as he looked down at the green girl and her family. _My Fae_ , he thought as he watched over them, forever watching over them and keeping them safe.

* * *

 **The End.**

 **Wow. My first crossover is now complete! Thank you all so much for reading! My next story,** ** _'Different Like Nothing'_** **, will be posted within the next two weeks. It is a regular Wicked Fiyeraba story, so keep your eyes peeled!**


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